MRRN: Volume 5
by WinterWolf29
Summary: A continuation of Volume 4. Reunited, Team MRRN sets off to Mistral to stop Salem's assault on Haven Academy, which possesses the Relic of Knowledge. With the aid of a new team from Haven, along with Forest and Glaucus, they must defend Mistral from the combined might of the Iron Knights and the White Fang. Will they prevent Haven's fall? Or will it suffer the same fate as Beacon?
1. Mistral

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 1: Mistral**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

** Author's Notes: This is a continuation of MRRN Volume 4. If you haven't read it already, then I strongly suggest you do so. Enjoy Volume 5! **

Valkoin arrived at Salem's fortress as summoned. When he walked into the main room, he saw the Grimm Queen sitting at the head of the table, along with Cinder and Tyrian. Mercury and Emerald were standing next to her, waiting at her beck and call in case she needed them.

"Where's Nachtfel?" the wire user asked, noticing the absence of the Iron Knight leader.

"He's out making sure any spare supporters he has are making their way to Solitas," Salem answered. "Atlas's borders are closed, but they know several locations where they'll be safe until we're ready for our assault."

"He won't be joining in the assault on Haven?" he asked.

"No. He's entrusted one of his Lieutenants, the Crusher, to command his forces there. But that's not why I summoned you."

"Of course." Valkoin sat down in his seat between Tyrian and Cinder.

"Was the ambush successful?" she questioned.

"Unfortunately, we lost far more than we gained," Valkoin informed. "The Slasher ignored my plan and the Huntsmen were freed. The Iron Knights that were at Beacon have been routed by the Grimm."

"What of Glynda?" Salem asked. "Why did you fail to kill her?" The wire user's glasses hid the shocked expression in his eyes.

He was certain that he had killed Glynda Goodwitch. He had stabbed her in the side with a blade which would've undoubtedly cause her to bleed to death. Even if Glaucus got her out of Beacon, there was no way he could've gotten her medical attention in time.

"Ma'am, I swear, I thought I had killed her," he answered. "I stabbed her."

"Well, it wasn't enough," Salem replied with a rather annoyed tone. "She's alive. Nachtfel informed me that one of his Knights saw her alive."

"I'm sorry, Your Grace," Valkoin apologized. "I'll head back if-"

"No," the Grimm Queen interrupted. "Until I decide your next objective, you will remain here." The wire user bowed his head in acknowledgement to the Queen.

"Glynda didn't have the cane, did she?"

"No. Neither did Glaucus…and Ozpin wouldn't have trusted it to Ironwood."

"Does that mean Qrow has it?" Tyrian asked.

"He's the only one left," Salem informed. "Professor Lionheart informed me that Qrow will be arriving at Haven tomorrow. He'll confirm whether he has Ozma's cane or not. If he does, then we must get it."

"It'll be risky," the wire user brought up. "The Kingdom is on high alert ever since the Grimm attacks. Even with the Huntsmen being killed off by the Knights, getting into Mistral won't be easy."

"Nachtfel has a solution," Salem informed. "Several of his Knights are in Mistral right now, acting as info gatherers…and assassins, led by the twins, Cloak and Dagger. If Qrow does indeed have Ozma's cane, then they'll bring it to us."

"And we can send Cinder to retrieve the Relic of Choice," Tyrian added.

"Speaking of Cinder," Salem addressed, gaining the Fall Maiden's attention. "The Iron Knights confirmed that Pyrrha Nikos has recovered and is capable of fighting again. If you encounter her on your way to get the Relic…do with her as you please."

Cinder smiled much more sadistically that Salem would let her go after Pyrrha should she stand in her way of the Relic. She had beaten Pyrrha once, but made the mistake of underestimating her, which nearly cost her victory.

From time to time, she had Emerald summon hallucinations of Ruby and Pyrrha to give her motivation. She would then kill them in a sadistic rage as he tried various ways to kill them, making them as slow and painful as possible.

"Well, someone's happy," Tyrian chuckled.

"Your Grace, has there been any word from Hazel?" Valkoin asked.

"He'll be reaching the White Fang headquarters in a few days," Salem answered. "From there, he'll convince Sienna Khan to aid in our assault on Haven. If she doesn't…well, then she's merely an obstacle."

"So what do we do?" Cinder asked. "Ruby is in Mistral-"

"Until I say what your next objectives are, you remain here, especially you, Tyrian," Salem interrupted. "You need a new tail. I'll have Dr. Watts make you a new one."

"You are very generous, Your Grace," he replied. "I won't fail you again."

"No, you won't," the Grimm Queen stated.

-0-

"Everyone…welcome to Haven Academy," Qrow told everyone. He had fully recovered from his injury and had taken the teens to the entrance of Haven Academy, Mistral's Huntsman school.

It appeared much different than Beacon. Instead of large brick dorms and modern technology, its buildings seemed much more traditional to Mistral's culture and had much more nature present, such as the Quad being surrounded by a forest. Compared to Beacon, its CCT Tower was much smaller, appearing like a sentry tower instead of the gigantic spire that was now in ruins.

"Where is everyone?" Jaune wondered. To everyone's surprise, it was completely empty. There were no students, no teachers, no faculty: the Academy looked completely deserted.

"On top of that, where's Leo?" Qrow asked. "He knew we were coming."

Earlier, Qrow had called Professor Lionheart that they would be arriving to discuss important information. The Haven Headmaster promised to meet them at the entrance and offer them a tour, which Qrow declined as they didn't have time. It was unlike Leo to not appear when he said he would.

Then again, Leonardo hadn't checked in with Ozpin for ages. Even when they tried to reach out to him, he wouldn't answer. Something was up, but Qrow had to see Leo first before he jumped to any conclusions.

"Hello!?" Ruby called out as she cupped her hands over her mouth like a megaphone. No one answered.

"Let's look around," Qrow suggested. The group looked all over the campus for people, specifically teachers and faculty. No matter where they looked, no one could be found.

"This doesn't make any sense," Qrow growled as they walked up to the Headmaster's Hall, where Lionheart's office was. He pulled the door open…to a man reaching for it before backing away.

"Ah!" he shouted.

"Ah!" Team RNJR screamed before the man backed away, clutching his chest as he leaned on the door.

The man had light brown, unkempt hair with a thick beard, tanned skin and brown eyes. His attire consisted of a brown best, white long-sleeve shirt, and robe that went down to his slacks and dress shoes.

"Professor Lionheart?" Ruby asked.

"Qrow!?" Leo gasped. "For the love of…you nearly scared me half to death!"

"All I did was open a door," Qrow pointed out. "Why weren't you waiting for us at the entrance like you said you would?" Leo looked surprised for a moment before he pulled out a pocket watch, his eyes widening at the time.

"Oh," he sighed. "Apologies. Time must've slipped away from me."

"Seriously?" Qrow asked. "You've never been one to be late for anything."

"Mistakes happen," Leo replied as he put the pocket watch away and looked over the students. "You must be the students that Qrow informed me of."

"We are," Ruby confirmed. "Ruby Rose."

"Jaune Arc."

"Nora Valkyrie."

"Lie Ren."

"Greetings," Leo chuckled. "Leonardo Lionheart at your service. I'm pleased to meet you all in person."

"Introductions out of the way," Qrow interrupted. "Why is there no one here?"

"Well, my faculty are on leave until classes-"

"What!?" Qrow barked. "Who's guarding the Relic!?"

"Qrow, the children-"

"I've filled them in. Why is there no one here?"

"Let us head to my office. We can discuss everything there." Leo led the group to his office. Upon opening at the doors with the Haven emblem, it revealed a half-circle room with a mahogany desk, seats and a tea set on the right side, bookshelves, and a lamp to the right of Leo's desk.

"Tea anyone?" he offered, holding the tea kettle. Only Ren and Ruby accepted while Jaune, Nora and Qrow declined.

-0-

Math woke up, his dark brown hair messy and in all different directions. He sighed as he wiped his face, feeling his goatee mustache and beard, along with the stubble along his jawline. He then looked at his scroll to read 8:40 A.M., meaning that breakfast was still being served on the ship.

"Pyrrha?" he whispered as he turned around, noticing the redhead beauty sleeping next to him, her long hair all over the place.

"Ten more minutes," she moaned, wanting some more sleep as the boat ride had unexpectedly made it harder for her to rest.

"Okay," the swordsman replied before pulling the covers off his legs and looking to his arm brace on his suitcase. "I'm going to get up-" Pyrrha pulled him back into bed, wrapping her arms around the autistic swordsman.

"Pyrrha?" he asked, feeling her move her head to sniff his neck. "Pyrrha, the breakfast- Hey!" She started nibbling on his neck for several moments before burying her face into his shoulder.

"Ten more minutes?" she asked with an innocent tone that she knew her boyfriend could never resist. Math moved around so he was facing Pyrrha and kissed her forehead.

"Fifteen because I love you."

"Yay." She snuggled her head into Math's neck as he wrapped his arms around her. She just loved cuddling so much; she could never get enough of it with him.

Pyrrha's mind went back to when her beloved confirmed that he still wished to consummate their love. She still wanted to do it with him and he was willing to do it with her. But for now, she had to put it on hold since they were now involved in a war that would decide the fate of Remnant.

"How are you holding up?" Math asked.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha replied, unsure of what he meant.

"I mean…this whole war with Salem," the swordsman asked. "Why didn't Ozpin just tell us? He was asking us…you to put your life on the line for his conflict."

Yes. Why didn't Ozpin tell them the truth of what they were up against? Why didn't he say how truly important the Maiden's powers were? If she had known how truly important the Maiden's powers were, then she may've accepted it.

Then again, she may not have. She couldn't find it in herself to give up everything she had found when at Beacon. Her friends, her teammates, her lover…she cared about them too much to give them up, especially for a conflict she didn't know everything about.

"If we see Ozpin again…I want an explanation from him," she stated. "He had no right to do that to me, especially when he said I had a choice."

"Guys," Robin called from the other side of the door of their room. "The breakfast bar will be closing soon. You coming?"

"In a few minutes," Math answered. After that, Pyrrha's stomach grumbled as loud as an Ursa.

"Coming," the swordsman changed his mind as he got Pyrrha out of bed and the two got dressed. When they arrived, Math and Pyrrha filled their plates with food and sat at a table with their companions.

"I heard from the captain," Glaucus brought up. "We'll be arriving by tomorrow evening."

"From there, it's three days to the train station?" Ruo asked.

"To the Anima Express, yes," Glaucus confirmed. "It's the fastest way to Mistral from where we are."

"Why couldn't we just take an airship?" Nasser asked as he ate some bacon.

"Vale strictly said that all air transportation is only for evacuation only," Glaucus answered. "I tried telling some Vale officers that, but they were adamant. Therefore, this was our only way to Anima."

"Didn't you say Ozpin hadn't heard from Professor Lionheart in ages?" Saf asked.

"Yes," he confirmed. "It's unlike Leonardo to stay out of contact for so long. Once we arrive, we can hopefully discover what's going on."

"Didn't Cinder claim to be from Haven?" Pyrrha asked. "Shouldn't have Professor Lionheart informed Ozpin once he realized she wasn't in the system?"

"The only thing I can think possible is that they used forged transcripts," Saf replied.

"That seems like the logical answer," Ruo agreed. "So, once we…arrive in Mistral…" He hesitated as his sentence was broken into pieces.

Saf and Glaucus didn't know what was going on, but everyone else did. Ruo was nervous about returning home, where he had lost his father's life and mother's sanity to injustice. Perhaps if Haven wasn't in danger, he wouldn't have decided to go back.

"When we arrive, we go to Haven Academy," Glaucus explained. "We warn Professor Lionheart about the incoming attack and then organize a defense. However, considering how bad I heard things were in Mistral, I don't know what help we can get. But once the Mistral council is informed, they'll need to help because they know they'll suffer the same fate as Beacon if they don't."

"We can't let that happen," Math stated. "Beacon fell because we were unprepared and we played right into Cinder's hands. This time, we have time to prepare and organize a defense. Plus, Forest is heading there; he'll know some Huntsmen who can help us."

"Though there is something else," Pyrrha asked. "You said the Spring Maiden went missing years ago, right?"

"Nearly a decade," Glaucus shamefully answered. "Qrow and Forest spent three years looking for her, but had no luck; she was simply too elusive."

"Then how can Salem get the Relic of Knowledge without the Maiden?" Pyrrha asked once more. "Then again, how can we be certain that she hasn't found her?"

"We cannot be entirely sure," Glaucus answered. "Maybe she'll worry about that later, especially since the Kingdoms are lacking communication with one another. But for now, our main objective is defending Haven. It must not fall."

"We won't let it," Nasser stated. "One way or another, we're stopping those sons of bitches."

"Language," Saf told him, much to his annoyance.

-0-

"You just filled them like that?" Leo asked as he sat in his chair as Qrow stood across from him. "That's reckless, even for you."

"And leaving the Relic completely unguarded isn't?" the scythe veteran questioned. "Not checking in with Oz for ages isn't reckless?"

"I had nothing to check in about before the Fall of Beacon, but ever since that day, Mistral has been in absolute chaos!" Leo replied as he rose from his seat.

"Do you think Vale was the only Kingdom to suffer that night? Everyone in every house in every kingdom saw everything: that poor girl ripped to pieces by Ms. Nikos-"

"It wasn't her fault!" Jaune interrupted. "She was tricked!"

"Mr. Arc, please." Leo insisted. "I have no doubt that it was an accident, but not everyone else sees it that way. They only saw murder, monsters crawling into the city, Atlesian Knights attack citizens…" He then sighed.

"You could feel the dread in the air. With all that negativity, we realized that we had accidentally attracted hordes of Grimm to our borders. With Mistral having the widest reaching territory out of the Kingdoms, we pulled everyone we could to defend ourselves. Our losses were so terrible, we even had to recruit students from Haven. Needless to say…many of them did not return. We hoped things would get better…but they've only gotten worse."

"Worse?" Ruby asked. "Was it because of how many Huntsmen you lost?"

"That's not it," Leo replied before walking to the window and leaning on the windowsill. "We've dealt with the Grimm, but the Mistral council is still at odds with representatives from Atlas."

"What happened?" Jaune asked. "We haven't heard much news lately."

"When we asked Atlas for supplies and help, they passed a Dust Embargo, forbidding them from transporting Dust to other kingdoms," Leo explained. "I even called Ironwood myself. I pleaded with him to send help because of how bad our losses were; instead, he convinced the council to close Atlas's borders. How could he be so narrow-minded and selfish?"

"Hold on," Qrow halted. "You spoke to Ironwood? And he refused to help?"

"Yes," Leo confirmed. "I don't know what happened to him, but he's become much more paranoid. Everything he's doing will only harm Atlas in the long run." He then turned back to everyone.

"On top of everything, we've still no idea where the Spring Maiden is."

"That's why we need the Huntsmen and Huntresses here," Qrow stated.

"I tried, but the Council took them all," Leo explained as he sat down. "We're in a state of emergency. Plus, I cannot exactly tell them we're harboring an object of great power. I told them what I could, but they still wouldn't hear me out."

"Okay, okay!" Ruby interrupted. "Things are bad…but we can still come up with a solution."

"I appreciate your optimism, Ms. Rose," Lionheart complimented. "You'd be the first to have some considering all that's happened. But that won't be enough to help us."

"You said the Spring Maiden was missing," Jaune asked. "What do you mean?" Leo raised an eyebrow and looked over to Qrow.

"I thought you filled them in," the Haven Headmaster reminded.

"Mostly," Qrow replied as he pulled out his flask. "There's a lot to cover, okay? I quit teaching for a reason."

"You quit teaching because they wouldn't let you take your flask on campus," Leo pointed out, much to Qrow's annoyance.

"Anyway, the Spring Maiden was a student at this Academy. She felt like a natural choice; strong, responsible, determined and a strong sense of morals. Over the time, the weight of responsibility became too much for her. I stopped her training for a while in the hopes of easing her mind, but regardless, she cracked under the pressure. She…ran, abandoned her training, everyone. That was nearly a decade ago."

"A decade?" Ruby gasped. "How can she be missing for a decade? Didn't anyone go looking for her?"

"I spent three years trying to find her," Qrow answered. "But I think I know where she is now." Leo's eyes widened in surprise to what the drunkard just said.

"Are you serious?" he gasped.

"Well…it's not exactly good news," Qrow admitted.

"Not good news?" the Haven Headmaster replied as he approached Qrow and put his hands on his shoulders. "This is wonderful news! We've finally found her after all these years!? WHERE!?" Qrow pushed him away before he pulled out his scroll.

"I did some digging. After Spring ran away, it looked like she was picked up bandits; specifically, the Branwen Tribe."

"Raven," Leo spoke softly.

"Just to be clear, we're talking about Yang's mom, right?" Ruby asked, being shocked by hearing that name again.

"Yeah," Qrow confirmed. "For someone wanting to stay out of Ozpin's war, she made a stupid move." He placed his scroll on the desk, causing a projection of the map of Remnant to be displayed. An area in Anima, roughly fifty miles southwest of Mistral, popped up in a square.

"That's the area where they've set up their main camp," Qrow explained. "It's where they fall back after raids and scouting missions. With the Spring Maiden at her side, gaining followers wasn't a problem."

"Thank you, Qrow," Leo said. "With these coordinates, we can mount a retrieval force and hopefully head out by the end of the month." Qrow glared at the Haven Headmaster with disbelief in his eyes.

"The end of the month?" he asked as Leo pressed several holographic buttons on the desk, seeming to copy the file. Before he could finish, Qrow snatched the scroll away appearing angry, but was instead out of caution.

"Didn't you hear a word of what I said?" the scythe veteran questioned. "My sister has the Spring Maiden and I know where she is! We can't wait until the end of the month, we need to go NOW!" He swiped several books from the desk in anger and disbelief at how the Headmaster was acting.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me," Leo responded sternly, having none of Qrow's outburst. "We are in a state of emergency. Like it or not, 'as soon as possible' doesn't mean now, it means as soon as I convince the rest of the Council that I need Huntsmen more than they do. I cannot exactly tell them about the Maiden now, can I? They'll simply see it as an effort to get rid of some bandits. Do you really think that with the possibility of war with Atlas that they'll be concerned about bandit tribes?"

"Damn the Council, then!" Qrow barked. "We'll do it ourselves. You and I are professional Huntsmen and these kids are much more than capable."

"Is there any peaceful way to approach this?" Ren suggested.

"With Raven?" Leo responded. "Highly unlikely. Raven is a charismatic leader and a skilled warrior, but she is too hot-tempered and short-sighted for diplomacy. Plus, without reinforcements, there is a stronger chance of losing Ozpin's cane."

"I've kept it safe so far," Qrow stated. "Wait…how did you know? I didn't bring it up."

Leo was shouting at himself mentally. Qrow didn't mention having Ozpin's cane, yet Leo had been instructed by Salem to ensure if he had it. He thought of a response as quickly as possible.

"I assumed you had it," he spat out. "Am I wrong?"

"I don't have it," Qrow answered. "But that's not the issue right now. We need to get the Spring Maiden."

"Then what?" Leo asked. "Raven and Salem will both seek her out."

"We get her as far away from here as possible. We cannot let Salem get the Maiden."

"I understand how important this is, but there are several factors to consider," Leo brought up. "You and Raven are evenly matched and I'm afraid age had caught up with me; I'm not the fighter I used to be. I don't mean to offend you, but the six of us won't be enough to take on Raven, her tribe and a Maiden that's had years to hone her skills. We need an even playing field to apprehend Spring; if we fail, Raven and her tribe will scatter…and we'll lose the Maiden. There is no room for mistakes."

The two Huntsmen looked at each other, Leo's being stern faith in his reasoning and Qrow's being annoyance and disappointment. Both of them had valid points; they needed to get the Spring Maiden as soon as possible, but the six of them alone may not be enough, especially against both Raven and the Maiden. The scythe user sighed before dropping his arms.

"Oz wouldn't be happy about this if he were here," he said.

"No, he wouldn't," Leo agreed. "But he's not here. I want to help you, but there's only so much I can do."

"Well, what about Cinder?" Ruby asked. "She claims to have come from Haven with Emerald and Mercury. Do you have any information on them?"

"We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon," Leo answered. "They were nothing but lies and forgeries."

"So you have nothing on them?" Jaune asked. "You should've known they weren't students here. Why didn't you inform anyone?"

"Jaune," Ruby calmed. "They lied to everyone, including him."

"I'm afraid so," Leo added. "I know you all came a long way and I'm sorry there's not much I can do right now. As soon as I can convince the Council to give me some Huntsmen, I'll let you know."

"Sure," Qrow responded. "We'll stay in the city for now. Local comms are still up, so keep in touch." He then walked to the door, Team RNJR following behind him. When they were closed, a projection of the letter W appeared on Leo's desk.

"_Oh, Leo…we have got to work on your improvisational skills." _

Outside the office, everyone was confused about what happened. As the meeting went on, tensions seemed to rise between Qrow and Leo due to their opposing plans of action and the current state of Haven Academy being unguarded.

"Why didn't you tell him you had Ozpin's cane?" Nora asked.

"Because something's up," Qrow answered. "Leo's being irrational. He knows better than to leave the Relic unguarded."

"So what now?" Jaune asked.

"There's bound to be some people who can help us," Ruby suggested. "But the Council-"

"Doesn't own every Huntsman in the Kingdom," Qrow interrupted. "We cannot wait until the end of the month for help. I'll throw together a list tomorrow and start looking. But first…I need a drink."

"Don't get drunk," Ruby sternly told him.

"Sure, Mom," Qrow joked before walking away.


	2. Fearful Encounters

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 2: Fearful Encounters**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

"No, no, no," Leo panicked as he examined his recorded files. He had hoped that he had downloaded the coordinates of the Branwen camp, but there was nothing. Qrow had removed the scroll before the copying could be completed.

"Hello, Leo," a voice addressed, making Leo jump. That voice belonged to none other than Dr. Arthur Watts.

"Dr. Watts?" the Haven Headmaster asked. "What are you doing here?"

"You seem worried," Dr. Watts commented, noting how nervous his accomplice looked. "You got what you need, correct? We have to report Her Grace."

Leo's heart was immediately filled with fear. He had failed in not one, but two tasks: getting the location of the Spring Maiden and discovering if Qrow had Ozpin's cane. How would Salem react to this failure?

"No…" he reluctantly admitted.

"What was that?" Watts asked for clarification.

"I don't have the coordinates," the Headmaster answered. "Qrow took the scroll away before the copying could be completed. And it doesn't look like he has Ozpin's cane." Watts groaned in annoyance.

"You had one simple task," he stated. "One simple YET important task."

"All hope is not lost," Leo assured. "The map showed that the camp is southwest of Mistral, fifty miles take or give."

"Then you can say this to Salem," Watts told Leo. The doctor opened a secret passage and gestured for Leo to follow him.

The Haven Headmaster held his hands together, his heart beating out of his chest as they went down the passage. He had to report to Salem about this development, but he didn't have any type of satisfactory responses to give her. For all he knew, this could be their last meeting due to his failure.

They finally approached a round room where a Seer Grimm awaited, floating at the center. Watts pushed Leo forward, insisting that he give the report. Leo was hesitant for a few seconds before finally gaining the courage to speak.

"Your Grace," he addressed. "Are you…there?" The red fog inside the Seer's crystal ball head swirled around, then presented an image of Salem and Cinder standing next to her.

"_Hello, Leonardo," _she greeted. _"Do you have something to report?" _

"Of course, ma'am," he replied. "I would not waste your time if not."

"I'm still so fascinated by this creature," Watts stated as he approached it and then tapped it twice. "Cinder? Are we coming through? Can you see us-"

"_Watts," _Salem warned, silencing the Atlesian doctor. _"Do you have something to report or not?" _

"Yes, ma'am," Leo assured. "We…we believe we've found the Spring Maiden's location." Salem's stern scowl changed to one of approval.

"_Is that so?" _she asked. _"Well done." _

"Thank you," Leo replied, nodding his head.

"_Arthur," _Salem addressed. _"If I had known how useful you'd be in expediting this process, I would've sent you much sooner." _

"I appreciate the compliment, Your Grace," Watts replied, subtle hints of arrogance in his tone. "But as much as I'd love to take credit, neither Leo nor I are to thank for this development. Guess you could say a little birdie told us."

"_Explain," _Salem demanded, making Leo turn back to her.

"As I said, Qrow Branwen came to Haven Academy yesterday," the Haven Headmaster explained. "He has reason to believe that the Maiden has taken residence with his sister's tribe."

"_Was…Ruby…with them?" _Cinder questioned, her voice still raspy, but able to speak.

"Oh, joy, you can speak again," Watts rudely commented. "And yes, Ms. Rose was in attendance."

"_Do you have the tribe's location?" _the Grimm Queen asked.

"No…no, ma'am," Leo answered very reluctantly. "Qrow must be suspicious of me. He removed his scroll before I could finish copying the coordinates." Salem frowned, immediately frightening the Cowardly Lion.

"So you don't have their location," she deduced,

"It's southwest of Mistral," Leo added. "Probably fifty miles at the least."

"But without an accurate location, we'd risk going in circles and alerting Raven to our presence," Watts spoke.

"_True," _Salem agreed. _"Did Qrow have Ozma's cane on him?" _

"I didn't see it and he claimed he didn't have it," Leo answered. "I believe it can only be-"

"He's lying," Watts interrupted before pulling out his scroll. Leo was scared that the doctor was referring to him until he started a recording.

"_Why didn't you tell him you had Ozpin's cane?" _

"_Because something's up." _Watts then ended the recording.

"I took the liberty of setting up a speaker before your meeting in several places," the doctor explained. "Qrow has Ozpin's cane."

"What?" Leo barked with fright. "Why didn't you tell me this before we met Her Grace?" All Watts did was smirk in response.

"_That's enough," _Salem demanded.

"Your Grace, we must move!" Leo insisted. "Qrow is-"

Salem commanded one of the Grimm's tentacles to strangle Leonardo, making him gag for breath. She then forced him onto his knees, making up look up at her with a terrified expression.

"_Leonardo, do you remember the first time we met?" _Salem asked the Haven Headmaster. _"I certainly do. I remember your fear, but ever since you started serving me, you've been incredibly brave." _She pointed one of the Seer's spiked tentacles at Leonardo's eye.

"_I won't forget everything you've done for me. But do not EVER forget what I can do to YOU. Do not ever speak out of place again." _Leo backed away as much as he could from the spiked tentacles before Salem released him from its grasp.

"_Cinder, you and your team will go with Valkoin to Raven's camp and convince her to surrender the Spring Maiden. Once you have the Maiden, take her to the Relic and then contact Hazel. The White Fang and Iron Knights were promised the destruction of Haven…and they will have it once we have what we need." _

"What do you need me to do?" Watts asked.

"_I need you to come back," _Salem answered. _"Tyrian is in need of a new tail." _

"What happened to his old one?" Watts asked.

"Guess," Salem insisted. Watts's confused expression changed to a smug one.

"Ms. Rose?" he asked, obviously angering Cinder. "It will be done. But what of Ozpin's cane?"

"_We will retrieve it," _Salem answered. _"Specifically, Nachtfel's forces. Now go." _Salem's image in the Seer Grimm faded away as the red fog whirled around.

"Why didn't you tell me you already knew?" Leo asked Watts, frustrated at why he kept this from him.

"It was fun to watch," Watts smirked.

-0-

The ship was now less than a day away from arriving in Anima. From there, the group would make their way to the Anima Express and take it the rest of the way to Mistral to defend Haven Academy.

Ruo sat in his room, thinking of how returning to Mistral could affect him. It had been years since he had returned to the Kingdom after the horrible injustice surrounding his parents. It was their racial prejudice against Faunus that got his father killed and drove his mother to insanity and brutality against the human race.

"You okay?" Robin asked as he entered the room, noticing the unsure look on his partner's face. He sat on the bed across from Ruo, looking at his arrows in the quiver.

"I'm not entirely sure about going back," the Faunus admitted. "I haven't been back to Mistral for a long time. I honestly never considered going back. If Haven wasn't in danger…"

"We're here for you," Robin assured. "We're your brothers now. And we're not going to let anyone harm you."

"Thanks," the Faunus replied.

Just then, the boat's alarm went off, meaning that they were in immediate danger. A voice said over the Intercom _"All crew members, battle stations! All civilians to the lower hull! We are under attack! This is not a drill!"_

"Attack?" Robin asked as he grabbed Sharp Shot. "Let's go!" Ruo nodded his head and the two of them hurried down the hallway. Before they reached the stairs, an impact caused the ship to shake and tumble.

Someone or something had hit them. They hurried up to the deck where they met up with Glaucus and the rest of the group to see what was attacking the ship. Instead of a gun or cannon, the cause of the impact was a long and large tentacle emerging from the water.

"Gigantes Squid!" the Captain alerted. "It's a Gigantes Squid!"

"Gigantes Squid?" Nasser asked.

"A large, aquatic Grimm," Pyrrha informed. "I've never seen one before. But why is it attacking? There's barely any negativity."

"It doesn't matter," Math replied. "What matters is that we take this thing down before it destroys the ship."

"What's the game plan?" Robin asked as he held Sharp Shot.

"Robin, Pyrrha, you're our long range support," the autistic swordsman informed. "Get high up and shoots its tentacles. The rest of us will stay on the deck and-"

"Razorjaws!" a crew member shouted as a humanoid-like Grimm with a shark headb, having climbed onto the deck. To their horror, more were climbing onto the ship and into it through open windows.

"I'll take care of the Gigantes Squid!" Glaucus stated. "Safirlas, Ruo, get to the lower hull and kill any Razorjaws you see! Keep those passengers safe."

"Got it," Ruo replied as he and Saf hurried down to the lower hull as screams were heard. The Razorjaws had already poured into the hallway and were making their way down to the lower hull where the civilians had locked themselves in. Three of them looked at the two warriors and roared as they charged at them.

Saf, not having much room to move her spear effectively, took two knives and threw them at their throats, killing two of them. Ruo slid under the third one and tore its stomach open, making it dissolve into smoke before it even touched the floor.

"What is attracting these Grimm?" Saf questioned. "There's not enough negativity to attract…" She noticed Ruo looking in one of the rooms, his attention fixed on it. When she looked inside, she covered her mouth in shock.

Two Faunus people were dead, having been stabbed to death. The male was on the floor, face down in his own blood. The second, a woman, who was probably pregnant by the look of her stomach, laid on her bed, her hand reached out to her husband.

Ruo snarled at the sight of this. Whoever committed this murder had put everyone's lives in danger. They had endangered the whole ship and for what? Most likely extreme prejudice.

"Whoever did this endangered the entire ship," Saf pointed out. "It's disturbing how cruel people can be." Screams were heard again from further down the hallway and into the hull. There was pounding on a door, most likely Razorjaws trying to break the door down.

"Let's hurry," Ruo insisted, prompting the two of them to hurry.

-0-

Back on deck, Math cut off another tentacle from the Gigantes Squid before slicing a Razorjaw in half. As he saw another tentacle try to latch onto the ship, he threw Torrach to slice it off, then used his gauntlet to bring the shield back.

"Looks like you're doing well with that shield," Pyrrha complimented before shooting a Razorjaw. She switched Ekdikeo into its spear form and threw it at one of the Squid's tentacles, tearing right through it. She then used her Polarity to summon it back and then threw Agapas at a Razorjaw.

"How many tentacles does this thing have?" Nasser asked as he cleaved one of its tentacles off that had latched onto the deck.

"Usually twenty to thirty," Glaucus informed.

"Well, these Razorjaw Grimm aren't making it any easier," Robin replied as he slashed one's torso with the sharp edge of Sharp Shot. He then leapt over another one, catching its head in his bow before slamming it to the ground and then shooting it at point-blank.

Glaucus twirled his staff, knocking a Razorjaw off board before launching an ice spike at another of the Squid's tentacles. When he saw several more Razorjaws charging at him, he activated the Lightning Dust in his staff and unleashed it in a chain attack on the Grimm, disintegrating all of them.

He looked around the ship, counting the number of tentacles around it. He knew that Gigantes Squid usually had around twenty to thirty and they had cut off at least a dozen of them. It couldn't have that many left, meaning it'd either give whatever it has left to bring the ship down or retreat.

To his surprise, all the tentacles lowered and sunk beneath the water while the Razorjaws continued to swarm the ship. Glaucus almost thought the Gigantes Squid had retreated, but his mind was changed when one of the tentacles quickly emerged from the water and slammed into the deck, sending Nasser and Pyrrha flying into the water.

"Pyrrha! Nasser!" Math cried out.

-0-

Ruo twisted a Razorjaw's head, which was followed by him slashing through another's torso. He activated the Ice Dust in Huzhao and threw two ice spikes at two different Razorjaws that were charging at him.

Safirlas planted Himmelkanten's spearhead in the floor and used it to launch herself and kick back two Razorjaws. She then brought it up and then slammed the spearhead onto one of them and killed the other with a throwing knife.

"Help!" a child's voice cried out from the other side of a steel door the Razorjaws were pounding on. As Ruo and Saf were about to make an attack, another message was heard over the intercom.

"_The Razorjaws are tearing up the engine room! We need backup now!" _

"You go help them," Ruo insisted to Saf before turning his attention to the Razorjaws pounding on the metal door. "I've got this."

"You sure?" Saf asked.

"If the Razorjaws destroy the engine room, we'll be stranded here," the Faunus pointed out. "Now go!" Saf nodded her head before heading off to the engine room, luckily knowing the way there.

Ruo made his way to the door, where the Razorjaws were immediately alerted to his presence. They all roared in response as they charged towards him.

The White Tiger Faunus impaled his left claws into the first Razorjaw Grimm's torso, then tore it open. The second one, he dodged its massive jaws by ducking and then throwing an ice spike at it with his Ice Dust.

Two more leapt at him, but he dodged it by leaping back and then slashing them with Fire-infused slashes. Sadly, when an impact caused him to nearly lose his footing, he was caught by surprise by one of the Razorjaws as it bit into his shoulder and pinned him to the wall. While Ruo could feel the pain, his Aura prevented the Razorjaw from injuring him.

He infused Huzhao with Earth Dust and punched the Razorjaw off his shoulder. When it recovered and pounced at him, the Faunus clawed its head in half, killing it.

"That should be all of them," Ruo believed before walking over and knocking on the door.

"It's safe!" he called out. The door opened to the passengers, holding their families in fear.

"I know you're scared, but don't give into negative thoughts," the Faunus instructed. "Negativity will only bring more Grimm."

"Who do you think you are?!" an older male passenger asked. "You don't get to boss us around!"

"I'm trying to help you," Ruo replied.

"You can help us by feeding yourself to the Grimm!" the passenger barked. "You Faunus filth helped destroy Beacon! No doubt you-"

"I smell blood on you," Ruo interrupted, noticing a foul stench on the passenger.

"How dare you!" he shouted.

"He's just trying to help," a little kid stated. "He saved us."

"Shut the hell up!" he roared, scaring the kid.

"Hey!" the kid's dad shouted. "You don't talk to my kid that way."

"I'll talk to anyone however I want," the older passenger dismissed.

"Just like you endangered this whole ship by murdering those Faunus?" the Faunus interrogated. "You smell of blood and water…and there are two dead Faunus in one of the rooms."

"How dare you accuse me!" the passenger growled as he pulled out his knife and slashed at Ruo, which he dodged and knocked the knife out of his hands, then pinned him to the wall.

"You killed those Faunus, one of them pregnant," the Tiger growled angrily. "That murder alone endangered everyone on this ship because of the negativity you hold."

"They deserved it!" the passenger snarled. "You shits destroyed Beacon, the CCT! Your worthless species is why people are dead."

"And you endangered everyone because of your blind hatred," the Tiger growled. "You will answer for what happened."

"Go to hell," the passenger rebuked. "I didn't do anything wrong." Not wanting the man to try anything, he made him sit in front of a pipe and then bound his hands to ice with a very thick layer of ice.

"Let me go, you animal!" the man snarled. "Let me go, now!" The kid's father hit him in the head with his foot.

"Thanks," Ruo spoke.

"We don't need him making things worse," the father replied. "What do you need us to do?"

"Keep this door locked when I leave," the Tiger instructed. "We'll take care of the Grimm."

-0-

Nasser woke up from the impact, shaking his head as he realized he was underwater. He looked over to see Pyrrha awake as well…and one of the Squid's tentacles coming for her. He activated his Semblance to launch himself towards her, moving her out of the way as the tentacle tried to grab her. He then used it again to make their way up to the surface.

"Nasser! Pyrrha!" Math called out. Robin aimed his grappling hook at them and fired, allowing Pyrrha to grab it with her Polarity. He then quickly reeled them in before they were overwhelmed by the Razorjaws.

"Wait!" Nasser gasped. "Where are our weapons?"

"Here," Math replied, gesturing to the axe, spear and shields. "They got scattered when you fell off."

Suddenly, the water started to rumble, as if something big was coming to the surface. That large object…was the head of the Gigantes Squid, its many eyes beating down on the warriors.

"Open fire!" one of the sailors commanded. They opened fire on the Gigantes Squid; except for a few shots to its eyes, it barely did anything. The Squid slammed one of its tentacles into the side of the ship, making some of the sailors fall into the water and were devoured by the Razorjaws.

"Go for its eyes!" Glaucus ordered everyone. "That's its only weak area!"

"You got it!" Robin replied as he nocked a Lightning Dust arrow.

-0-

Saf made it to the engine room, where nearly a dozen Razorjaws were starting to tear the place apart, the sailors having already been overwhelmed and killed. She needed to act quick or else-

Her vision started again. It showed one of the Grimm flying into the engine due to an impact, leaving it inoperable.

"I need to get rid of all of them quick," Saf stated as she hurried and skewered the nearest Razorjaw. The rest of them stopped wrecking the engine room and charged at Safirlas.

The first one pounced at her, which she dodged by leaping aside and then throwing a knife at its neck. Another bit at her, so she jumped over it and spun her spear around, knocking three of them back. She impaled Himmelkanten into the nearest Razorjaw, followed by slashing it through another's head.

She kept her vision in mind, doing her best to make quick work of the Razorjaws before whatever happened that would cause one of them to break the engine. She stayed on her toes as she killed the Razorjaws one by one until she was face to face with the last one.

Its position scared Saf; it was right next to the engine. Feeling the impact would come soon, Saf threw two of her knives at its throat, killing it and make it disintegrate into black smoke. She breathed a sign of relief...just as the impact came. Several large pieces of machinery broke off and flew against the engine, one of them causing it to explode.

"Is the engine…?" a sailor asked, just now getting to the engine room.

"What's going on?" Ruo asked, arriving to see the exploded engine.

"That's not good."

-0-

Robin shot a Lightning Dust arrow at one of the Squid's eyes, partially blinding it. It let out a horrible shriek as it tried swinging one of its tentacles at the ship, but was stopped by a shockwave thrown by Math.

"Hold them off!" the Captain ordered. "I'll prepare the Breaker Cannon!"

"Breaker Cannon?" Pyrrha asked.

"The one thing that can make sushi out of that Squid," the Captain answered. "I just need several minutes to charge it. Keep the Grimm away from it."

"Got it," Glaucus complied before blasting one of the Razorjaws off with Gravity Dust. The Captain hurried to the control room and pressed a blue button. On the deck, the center area moved apart to allow a large and intimidating cannon, aimed right for the Squid's head.

"How long do you need?" Math asked.

"Three minutes," the Captain replied as the cannon started charging.

"Nasser, Robin, help the sailors keep the Grimm back," Math told him. "Pyrrha and I are on defense; we'll protect the cannon."

"You got it," Robin complied as he shot yet another Razorjaw. Math and Pyrrha hurried back to the cannon, each one standing on an opposite side.

"Why was it too much to ask for a peaceful cruise?" Math asked his beloved.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Pyrrha replied as she killed a Razorjaw.

Holding off the Grimm to allow the cannon to charge up felt like forever, even after the Razorjaws were beaten back. All that was left was the Gigantes Squid…and the cannon was ready to blow it away.

"FIRE!" The Captain fired the cannon at the Gigantes Squid, blowing its head apart and causing its body to violently crash back into the ocean. The waves crashed against the ship, causing it to shake several times until the waters became calm.

"That was exciting," Math commented.

"Captain!" a sailor called out, Ruo and Saf following him. "The engine's destroyed."

"What?" the Captain asked as he approached the sailor. "Can it be fixed?"

"No, it exploded," Saf explained.

"The Grimm were attracted because one of the passengers murdered two Faunus," Ruo informed.

"What?" the Captain gasped. "A passenger knew that the Grimm would be attracted to us and he did it anyway? Where is he?"

"Locked up in the area where the passengers are holed up," Ruo informed. "Can we get moving?"

"With the engine inoperable, no," the Captain answered. "I'll call the nearest port and have them send boats to pick us up." He walked back to the Captain's quarters to make the call.

The good news was that the Grimm had been beaten back and the passengers were safe. The bad news was that they were now stranded until help arrived…and who knew how long that could take.


	3. Surprises

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 3: Surprises**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

Ruby groaned in annoyance at her Uncle, puking into the toilet of the bathroom. She had warned him not to get drunk, but she should've known better: on and off the job, Qrow was an alcoholic.

"Why can't you go one day without drinking?" she questioned her Uncle.

"It's a stressful job," Qrow answered before puking again.

"It's also stressful having to go look for you and drag you home," Jaune snarked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Geez, you're supposed to be the adult here."

"Oh, shut up," the scythe user responded. "I'll get started on that list when I'm feeling better."

"Don't take too long," Ruby told him. The reaper then made her way downstairs to get some bags and head out for the market since they barely had any food. Just as she was about to leave, there was a knock at the door.

"I got it!" Nora called as she zoomed over and opened it. To their surprise, it was a young boy with messy black hair, hazel and green eyes, tanned skin, and was shorter even than Nora. His clothing was poor and dirty, almost looking like he had come from outside the city.

"Can I help you?" Nora asked with her usual smile.

"Is…Ms. Rose here?" the boy asked. The minute Ruby's surname was mentioned, Nora dropped her smile and became very suspicious of him.

"Why?" Ruby asked, suspicious as well.

"Is everything okay?" Ren asked as he approached the two girls. "Who's he?"

"My name's Oscar…Oscar Pine," he introduced himself. "And you have…silver eyes."

Ruby's eyes widened at that statement. She had only heard it once before…the same man who had allowed her into Beacon two years early.

"What's going on?" Qrow asked as he came downstairs, looking better and followed by Jaune. When he noticed the young boy in the doorway, the scythe veteran looked at him very intently.

"Do any of you know him?" he asked. All of them replied negatively.

"Well, he knows all of you," Oscar spoke, much to everyone's confusion.

"He?" Jaune asked, but the boy had his attention on Qrow.

"He says…he wants his cane back."

Everyone became even more confused, except the scythe veteran. He took the cane from his belt and held it in his hand.

"It's good to see you again, Oz," he said, tossing the cane to Oscar.

"Oz?" everyone asked.

-0-

"I've told you already, Adam, the White Fang will not attack Haven Academy," Sienna told him as she sat on her throne and he knelt at the steps. "I am tired of repeating myself."

"High Leader, Mistral has long been one of the more racial kingdoms against our people, surpassed by Atlas," Adam informed. "If we destroy Haven Academy, it will show them that we are done with their mistreatment of our kind."

"No, it'll further justify their hatred of us," the Tiger Faunus corrected. "They hate the White Fang now much more than ever before."

"With respect, High Leader, humanity would've hated us anyway, even if the White Fang had never been created," Adam spoke. "They've always hated us because we're different."

Sienna deeply considered Adam's point. Humanity was racial against the Faunus simply because they were different. Even if the White Fang had never been formed, they'd still suffer prejudice every day just for being who they are.

"I am done watching my people suffer because humanity is unwilling to give us the respect we deserve," Adam stated. "Things always get worse before they get better."

"Not this time," Sienna believed. "Ever since the Fall of Beacon, humans have begun a movement of their own. They call themselves the Wild Hunt."

"I've heard of them," Adam replied. "They're based in Mistral, right?"

"And they want to expel all Faunus from the Kingdoms," Sienna continued. "Murders, burning down Faunus-friendly businesses, pressuring people to destroy Faunus homes…the Faunus in Mistral are suffering much worse than before because of YOUR actions. You think you're making things better, but all you've done is make them worse."

"Then I'll make them right," Adam stated. "We'll destroy the Wild Hunt and remind them that we will no longer tolerate their prejudice."

"Dammit, Adam!" Sienna barked, rising from her throne. She glared down at Adam for a few moments before recollecting herself and sitting back down.

"I was one of the first to advocate the use of violence when it was necessary. While I respect Ghira, I didn't agree with his methods: all peace did was bring more pain and we weren't allowed to fight back. My way of leadership told the Faunus not to lay down and let the humans trample over us, to fight back towards those who wrong us. But attacking the Academies…that could start a war. That's what working with these humans you spoke of did to us."

"Well, since you want to know more about the humans, you can talk to one of them yourself," Adam suggested before rising to his feet and turning his face to the large door.

"Hazel!" The doors opened to reveal a large man, probably eight feet tall with tanned skin, dark brown hair, a beard and hazel eyes.

"Took you long enough," Hazel responded before walking into the room. As he approached, Sienna's guards pointed their spears at him.

"So you're the human Adam told me about," the High Leader deduced. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't have you killed."

"Ma'am, I am not here to start a conflict," Hazel answered. "No one needs to die."

Adam mentally snorted at that. He knew that Salem had most likely instructed him to kill Sienna should she refuse to cooperate. He couldn't allow that; it'd alienate the White Fang from their cause if they were seen murdering Sienna Khan. Luckily, he had something in mind.

"You already did when you coerced my brothers and sisters into helping your associates destroy Beacon," Sienna stated. "We're suffering for it."

"I understand," Hazel calmly replied before kneeling. "All I ask is for a few moments of your time." Sienna was awfully tempted to order her brothers and sisters to kill Hazel on the spot, but she was capable of reason.

"The longer you stay here, the less of a chance you have of leaving here alive," she warned.

"I'll take those chances if you don't mind," Hazel responded. Sienna gestured for her guards to stand down and lower their weapons. The giant man then stood up as he prepared to address his case.

"I know you don't like me, you have no reason to. But I can guarantee that working with us, you and your people will get the equality you deserve."

"I don't think you truly understand what I want," the High Leader replied. "I want humanity to fear the Faunus, to know that we demand respect. But attacking the Academies could start a war with the humans that we cannot win."

"What if that is the only way?" Adam suggested as he started walking up the steps.

"Ever since we first came into existence, humanity murdered our kind, beaten them, treated us like dogs. Even if the White Fang had never been created, humanity would've looked for another excuse to get rid of us. They are incapable of giving us respect and equality willingly, so we turned to violence to let them know we are done being pushed around. I've willingly stained my hands with buckets of blood for the good of my people because…because sometimes that's what it takes. If we truly want equality, if we truly wish to make humanity fear us, then perhaps war is our best option. The Kingdoms are divided, fighting among themselves…but we're united."

"I've had enough of this conversation for tonight," Sienna stated, unconvinced by Adam's case. "Guards, escort them out." To her surprise, none of them moved a muscle.

"I said escort them out!" she repeated. Still, they didn't move. Just then, more White Fang entered the room, their weapons aimed for Sienna Khan.

"What's going on?" Hazel asked.

"Do what's right for the Faunus," Adam decreed. "If you will not take the path necessary to get our people equality and respect, then you're no longer capable of being High Leader. I will lead the White Fang from now on."

Sienna looked around, every weapon in the room was focuses on her. Even her own guards pointed their spears at her as she stood up. Adam was able to convince the White Fang to help him overthrow her and take over the reins himself.

"If you think that I'll just step aside and follow beneath you, you're wrong," Sienna defied. She froze when she felt something sharp against her stomach, prompting her to look down. Adam's chokuto's tip was on her stomach, almost ready to run her through.

"I could kill you, Sienna," Adam told her. "But I won't. You were there for us when we needed you, but they need me now." He retracted his sword and placed it back in its sheath.

"Take her away," he instructed everyone. The four guards gestured for Sienna to move, but she didn't budge. They tried getting her to move by holding up their spears to her back; what they didn't see was Sienna grabbing her chain weapon, then knocking them aside.

"You traitors!" she roared. "How dare you turn on me!"

"Sienna, stand down," Adam warned her as he placed his hand on his sword. She glared at him with immense anger.

"I brought you into the White Fang after Jacques Schnee killed your parents," she reminded him. "I placed you in charge of the Vale brotherhood. I praised you as one of our greatest assets. And THIS is how you repay me? By overthrowing me!?"

Adam was doing this to save her life. He knew that Hazel would most likely kill her on Salem's orders if she refused to cooperate. By removing her from power, there was no need to kill her, but he should've known she'd be too stubborn to accept defeat.

She rushed at him, unleashing a flurry of attacks, some of which landed on his blade. She then threw a kunai at him, which he deflected.

"Sienna, I don't want to do this," he insisted. "Stand down."

"Never!" Sienna roared.

It was obvious she wouldn't stop until she killed Adam for his treachery, something he wished didn't happen. How naive he was. Sienna charged at him one more time, preparing to kill him.

With great pain, he unleashed his Semblance to create a shockwave that knocked Sienna into the wall, blood splattering as she made impact and then fell to the ground, dead.

His mask alone kept the pain of having to kill his mentor hidden. He hoped that she would stand down when she saw she was at a huge disadvantage, but she was far too stubborn to listen to him.

"I'm sorry," he quietly apologized.

"High Leader?" one of the White Fang addressed Adam.

"Give her a proper burial," he ordered. "All who were here tonight will claim that Sienna was murdered by a human Huntsman in revenge for the Fall of Beacon." Several White Fang came over and placed her body on a stretcher as Adam walked up to the throne and the rest left the room.

"When were you planning on telling me about that?" Hazel questioned Adam.

"This was my business, not yours," he replied.

"It's OUR business now," Hazel corrected. "And I hate that you kept this from me."

"You were going to kill Sienna if she refused to cooperate," Adam revealed. "I tried getting her to stand down, but…" He sighed.

"This will come back to bite you," he warned. "If the Faunus realize that you killed Sienna Khan-"

"I know perfectly well what will happen," Adam interrupted. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to." Hazel shook his head in disappointment.

"I didn't want anyone to die today," he claimed before leaving the throne room. As Adam sat upon his newly acquired throne, he spoke six words.

"No. No one had to die."

-0-

"Oz!?" Jaune barked as everyone was in the room, he and Ren standing, Nora, Ruby and Qrow on the couches and Oscar on the chair. "As in Ozpin!?"

"Hey, cool it, kid!" Qrow responded. "You might want to go ahead and tell them."

"Tell us what?" Nora questioned.

"Hold on a minute," Oscar replied before closing his eyes. A few moments passed before a green light enveloped his body and he opened his eyes.

"_It's good to see you all again," _Ozpin greeted, much to everyone's surprise. Everyone looked in shock at the boy, unsure of what to think right now.

"Professor…Ozpin?" Ren asked.

"_Yes," _Ozpin confirmed. _"Oscar is still present; he's merely handed me the controls." _

"_Why don't they look happy?" _Oscar asked, but Ozpin did not reply. Ruby, Ren and Nora were all confused by this, Qrow was welcoming, but Jaune…the Arc looked ready to rip his head off, his fists tightened and his eyes narrowed at him.

"You bastard!" Jaune snarled. "I should beat the hell out of you for-"

"Jaune!" Ruby stood up and held her hands up, stopping the Arc. The armored swordsman didn't move further towards the boy, but his glare was still fixed on him.

"_Mr. Arc, please allow me-" _

"Don't even start!" Nora barked. "We know what you did to Pyrrha. How dare you do something like that!"

"_I'm getting real nervous right now," _Oscar spoke. _"Why are they getting mad at us?" _

"_I'm sorry for what I did," _Ozpin apologized.

"What?" Qrow asked. "Wait…Oz, you didn't force Pyrrha to take the Maiden's powers, did you?" Ozpin sighed in regret before turning to the scythe user.

"_It's true," _he admitted. _"I became desperate…and I forced Pyrrha to take the Maiden powers." _

Qrow's reaction was one of pure shock. He didn't believe that his friend was capable of such a thing. All this time, he had thought it was just a misunderstanding, that Pyrrha accepted them willingly. Now hearing that Ozpin had indeed forced it on her was…troubling.

"You…you did?" Ruby asked. "How could you?"

"_I was desperate and I…I hoped Pyrrha would accept them willingly," _Ozpin answered. _"I won't sit here and justify my actions. I've wronged you, all of you…and Beacon fell because of me." _

"Because of you?" Jaune asked, turning his head to Qrow. "Anything ELSE you didn't tell us?" Qrow groaned in annoyance at the Arc.

"_I'm…cursed," _Ozpin explained. _"For millennia, I've walked Remnant, doing whatever I can to stop Salem." _

"Cursed?" Ren asked. "How are you cursed?"

"_For my failure to stop Salem, the Gods condemned me to an endless cycle of reincarnation," _Ozpin answered. _"Whenever my current body dies, my Aura merges with another of similar mindset. Therefore, my soul has become merged with Oscar's. It was hard for him to accept this at first…as it was for me." _

"You can reincarnate?" Jaune asked. "That's definitely something I didn't expect."

"_I didn't think so," _Ozpin replied. _"The Professor Ozpin you met wasn't my first form and clearly wasn't my last. But regardless of who I can reincarnate to, my memories, my experiences remain the same." _

"So when does it stop?" Ruby asked.

"_My reincarnation can only stop when I have defeated Salem," _Ozpin answered. _"We must do so now." _

"Why should we trust you?" Nora questioned. "How are we supposed to know you won't do to us something similar to what you did to Pyrrha? Do you have any idea how badly you traumatized her?"

"Guys-" Qrow attempted to speak.

"Shut up!" Jaune barked, silencing the scythe veteran. "You weren't there! You didn't hear Pyrrha scream in agony! She almost died that night! Why should we trust Ozpin?"

"What he did was wrong, there's no argument there," Qrow agreed. "But he's not the enemy here, Salem is. She's the one who destroyed Beacon, who sent those people to trick Pyrrha into killing Penny…they're responsible for that night, not him."

"He might as well be," Jaune suggested. "How can you honestly side with him after-!"

"Alright, knock it off!" Ruby barked, pushing them away from each other. "Ozpin definitely needs to work to regain our trust, I can agree with that. But between him and Salem, she's the much bigger threat, the one who's actively seeking to destroy Remnant. We can't stop her if we're too busy fighting each other."

"She's right, Jaune," Ren agreed, making the leader of JNPR look back at him. "For now, Salem is the greater threat. If Ozpin is truly sorry for what he did, then he'll work to regain our trust."

"I could care less about him," Jaune dismissed.

"_Mr. Arc, Mr. Ren, and Ms. Valkyrie," _Ozpin addressed them all. _"I've wronged you and your teammate and I am sorry for that. I was desperate and I let it get the better of me. I hope in time, I can make amends for my mistake and earn back your trust." _

Jaune didn't know if he could ever trust Ozpin again after what he did. He openly admitted his atrocious decision and stated that he want to make amends, but was he sincere about it? Or was it just some big lie to get on their good side? For now, it seemed only Qrow and Ruby would treat him with some kind of friendliness.

"Oz, I have good news," Qrow spoke. "I know where the Spring Maiden is."

"_You've found her!?" _Ozpin gasped with an excited look on his face. _"Where is she?" _

"With Raven," Qrow answered. The excited scowl on Ozpin's face quickly degraded into a serious one. He had never suspected that Raven Branwen would harbor a Maiden, especially since she said how she wanted nothing to do with the war against Salem.

"_Who else knows about this?" _he asked.

"I showed the coordinates to Leo," Qrow answered. "He tried copying the file, but I stopped him."

"_Why's that?" _Ozpin asked, unsure of what was going on with the Haven Headmaster.

"Leo's being irrational," the scythe veteran informed. "He's left Haven completely defenseless."

"_What?" _the Beacon Headmaster gasped. _"He knows that we need to keep Huntsmen on the campus at all times. Under no circumstances can we allow the Relic to be left unguarded. What else happened?" _

"Leo asked about your cane, even though I didn't bring it up," Qrow informed. "As for the Maiden, he insists and waiting for support from the Council. He claims that the soonest we can leave is by the end of the month. Leo's not himself."

"_No, he isn't," _Ozpin agreed as he rose from his seat and paced the floor. _"He isn't just behaving irrationally, he's disobeying specific instructions I had left him." _

"But the Academy Headmasters take their orders from you, right?" Ren asked.

"_That's the intention," _Ozpin answered. _"Four lieutenants I can trust, especially during times of reincarnation. But with Leonardo acting the way he is…something's wrong. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I won't rule anything out." _

"It could be possible he's working for Salem," Nora suggested.

"_As I said, I won't jump to conclusions, but I won't rule anything out," _Ozpin repeated. _"But I hope it's not that. If Leonardo is working for Salem, she'd have access to information on every known Huntsman and Huntress in the kingdom. From now on, perhaps it'd be best to not share any more information with him, including me being paired with Oscar." _

"So play things close to the chest?" Qrow asked.

"_Yes," _Ozpin confirmed before turning to face everyone.

"_We cannot wait until the end of the month for help from the Council; that's the most likely time Salem will launch her assault on Haven Academy. We have two objectives in front of us: the first is that we must recruit more Huntsmen." _

"But what about what Lionheart said?" Ren brought up. "The Mistral Council-"

"Doesn't own every Huntsman and Huntress in the Kingdom…and I know where we can find more," Qrow stated.

"_As long as they're trustworthy_," Ozpin stated.

"I think anyone's more trustworthy than you," Jaune insulted.

"Kid-" Qrow started, but Ozpin stopped him.

"_Mr. Arc, I know you don't trust me, but I am not your enemy," _he claimed. _"But I do hope in time, you and your teammates can forgive me for what happened." _

"That's going to be a lot of hard work," Nora stated.

"Anyway," Qrow spoke to change the topic. "I already know many Huntsmen who could help us…and they can be trusted to put a good fight."

"_Thank you, Qrow," _Ozpin replied. _"While he's out looking for Huntsmen, we'll move onto our second step." _

"Which is?" Ruby asked as Ozpin activated his cane.

"_Getting you four into fighting shape." _Team RNJR looked at each other in confusion of what Ozpin meant. They were already trained fighters, they knew how to handle Grimm.

"Ozpin, we know how to fight," Jaune claimed, prompting the Beacon Headmaster to point his cane at him.

"_You may've improved, Mr. Arc, but you still need to unlock your Semblance AND, to be blunt, your fighting skills are the least accomplished." _Jaune groaned at this fact, knowing that the man he hated was right. Compared to everyone else, Jaune's combat skills were the weakest and needed the most training. He just hated that it was Ozpin who pointed it out…and was right about it."

"_Ms. Rose, you can only fight as long as you have Crescent Rose," _Ozpin pointed out again. _"You're overdependent on it. You're severely lacking in unarmed combat." _Ruby smiled nervously at this fact.

"_All of you have a ways to go before you pose any true threat to Salem and her forces. And even though Oscar can give me temporary control, he'll need to strengthen his own body and Aura as well." _

"_Wait, what?" _Oscar asked.

"_He'll inherit my muscle memory in time, but training will expedite the process," _Ozpin explained further.

"So who'll train us if Qrow's out looking for Huntsmen?" Ruby asked, making Ozpin chuckle.

"_Last I checked, I was the Headmaster of Beacon Academy," _he reminded everyone. _"As of right now, our main objective is to get the Spring Maiden, get the Relic and leave Mistral." _

"But what about Haven?" Jaune asked. "We can't just leave it to be destroyed. Even if we take the Relic, the White Fang and Iron Knights will want to destroy it."

"_We'll need to gather as much help as possible," _Ozpin stated. _"Luckily, since many Huntsmen are out there on the frontier, a militia has been formed to keep Mistral safe. They're led by a young man named Silvio Steel. However, he is currently out of Mistral and we do not know his location, though once he returns, we'll inform him of the incoming attack on Haven and he will help." _

"Militia?" Qrow asked. "We're basically turning to mobs with pitch forks to go up against trained warriors?"

"_Silvio's militia is trained, I believe,"_ Ozpin stated. _"We don't know how trained, but some help is better than no help." _

"Okay, so once this Silvio guy gets back, we can ask him for help, right?" Nora asked. "I guess things aren't so bad."

"_Indeed," _Ozpin agreed. _"But none of that will matter if Salem gets to the Maiden first. We must find her before she does." _

"Then what're we waiting for?" Qrow asked. "Let's get to work. I'll go ahead and get started on that list."

"_And we'll start training right away," _Ozpin responded. _"All four of you have a ways to go before you're truly ready to face Salem, so don't expect me to go easy on you." _

The same green light enveloped Oscar's body, showing that the farm boy was now back in control again. He looked up nervously at everyone and shyly waved his wand.

"I know you guys don't like Ozpin, but…hi," he spoke.

**Author's Notes: Silvio Steel was a character created by Darth Stigma. He's been helping me with some plot points, enemies and characters for my series. I'm giving him a huge shoutout for his help! **


	4. Family and Race Issues

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 4: Family and Race Issues**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

Yang looked at Bumblebee's gas tank to realize it was low. She had been driving for days now and there hadn't been any gas stations on her route. She needed to find one soon or she'd be pushing Bumblebee all the way to Raven's camp.

To her luck, a gas station was just a few miles up the road. She breathed a sigh of relief, thanking whatever Gods there were that she wouldn't run out of gas. In just a few minutes, she reached the station and parked her bike.

This whole trip, Yang remembered her father's words about Raven. Whoever she was when they fell in love, she was no longer that person. She had become selfish, hypocritical, irresponsible and an overall unpleasant person. A part of her believed that even if Yang explained her situation to her mom, she wouldn't help simply because it didn't benefit her.

But at this point, Yang didn't have a choice. She had already come too far to turn back. She had no idea where Ruby was and searching Anima could take ages; only Raven's Semblance could allow her to reach her sister quick.

Of course, Yang had other questions to ask her mother. Why did she abandon her? Why did she never come to visit her, especially after she had lost her arm? Why did she go down a path where she became overruled by her selfishness and hypocrisy?

She had many questions that needed answering, but Ruby's safety needed to come first.

Yang inserted her Lien card, grabbed a gas nozzle and placed it into the gas tank. The digital numbers on the pump rose higher as it filled up Bumblebee.

The yellow dragon wiped the sweat off her head before putting her glasses on her belt. She walked inside the station to see various candies, bottled beverages, and a man in a bowtie behind the counter to the left.

"Hey," he greeted as he cleaned a glass. "What can I do for you?" Yang walked over to the cold section and pulled out a bottled water. She placed it on the counter and put down some Lien to pay for it.

"I'm looking for someone," the blonde asked as she opened her water.

"Well, ma'am, not too many people come this far from the Kingdom," the employee responded. "The only person worth really mentioning here is-"

"Raven Branwen," Yang interrupted. "Do you know her?" The employee's scowl became uneasy after hearing that name.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, seeming scared of the name, Raven Branwen.

"I'm looking for her," Yang repeated. "Do you know where she is?"

"No, I don't," the employee replied. "No one whose ever gone looking for her camp ever returned."

Just then, a man kicked the door open. He was tall, scrawny, and tanned with messy blonde hair, brown eyes and an unpleasant presence about him. His cloth made him look like he was part of a vicious biker gang. His smile was crooked and full of malice, which often belonged to bandits here in Mistral.

"Oh no," the employee moaned.

"So, what've you got today?" the man chuckled as he looked around the store.

"Who's he?" Yang asked.

"Shay D. Man," the employee answered. "He comes here every once in a while and causes trouble for my store."

"Oh, look at this," Shay snickered as he opened a bottle of beer and drank from it.

"Sir, you have to pay for that," the employee informed Shay, making the ruffian look at him.

"Come on, we're pals," Shay smirked as he grabbed a bag of chips. "And pals let each other have things."

"You need to pay for that," the employee repeated. Shay laughed as he tossed the beer bottle aside.

"In case you've forgotten, I'm a member of the Branwen Tribe," he condescended. "I can do whatever I want and you can't do anything about it…if you want to keep your brains in your head, of course."

As soon as she heard Branwen, Yang realized she was looking at her most likely chance of finding her mother. She just wished it wasn't a ruffian like Shay D. Man. She was broken out of her thoughts when she saw Shay pull a gun out on him.

"Do I make myself clear?"

"Please, don't shoot me," the employee pleaded.

"Well, if I did-"

"You won't," Yang interrupted, her fists clenched. Shay looked at Yang lecherously, his eyes wandering over her body.

"Well, I see something I like," he chuckled. "Hey, sweetheart, why don't you and I go somewhere else? In private, I can be…lots of fun."

"No, thanks," Yang replied, but Shay kept on his advances on her. Yang's arm started to shake as she sensed a fight was inevitable. She quickly grabbed it to calm herself down

"Your hair," he whispered creepily. "It looks so soft." He reached out to touch it, but Yang grabbed his hand, holding it in place. Her eyes changed from iris to red, scaring Shay. He tried to reach for his gun, but Yang punched him square in the face, sending him outside.

The blonde brawler walked after him, watching as he struggled to get up. He pointed his gun at her, but she quickly grabbed it and threw it away. She then stepped on his chest and aimed her robotic arm's cannon at him.

"Whoa, whoa!" Shay panicked, holding his hand. "I was just joking! I'll leave you alone! Don't shoot me."

"I won't…because you said something earlier," Yang replied, confusing Shay.

"You said you were a member of the Branwen Tribe. As in Raven Branwen?" Shay looked surprised. She didn't look like she was from around here. How did she know that name?

"Yeah…Raven Branwen," Shay confirmed. "How do you know her?"

"That's not important," Yang responded. "Do you know the way to her camp?"

"Yes, yeah," Shay answered hastily. "I know where she is."

"Good…because you're going to take me there." Yang raised her foot off Shay with her arm cannon still aimed at him as he got up.

"What's in it for me?" he asked.

"Simple," Yang spoke. "Take me there and I won't do this again." Before Shay could ask, Yang reached over with her robotic arm and squeezed his genitals. He squealed like a pig for several moments before Yang let him go.

"Are we clear?" she questioned. Shay nodded his head, whimpering from the pain.

"Good. Now let's go."

-0-

Ghira paced the floor of his home, holding his speech in his hands. With him in the room was Blake, Kali, Sun, Akela and Bhaal, all prepared to stand by him when he gave it out.

"Ghira, there are some things you should leave out," Bhaal insisted. "We don't know how many of the White Fang here are loyal to Adam. What's to stop him from killing the messenger or anything to sabotage our efforts?"

"I need to be honest with them," Ghira replied. "The truth is never easy, but they need to know. Once they've been informed, I believe they'll do what's right."

"Your definition of 'right' is to defend Haven Academy," Bhaal stated. "But it may not be theirs."

"What other definition is there?" the Menagerie Chieftain questioned.

"Ghira, you must understand," the Bear Faunus insisted. "You're asking the Faunus to risk their lives for the same people who discriminated against them. They won't want to defend Haven if they feel it won't affect them."

"But it will," Blake responded. "If Adam has his way and Haven falls, things will only get worse for the Faunus."

"We understand that," Bhaal spoke. "But the reality of this is that it'll take more than a speech to convince them." The door to their house opened to one of Ghira's guards.

"Chieftain, everyone has gathered," he informed. "We're ready to go."

"Thank you," Ghira responded. He walked over to the entrance, but was stopped by Bhaal.

"Be careful about you say out there," he warned. "We don't know who serves Adam out there." The Chieftain didn't reply as he walked to the podium, followed by his family and friends. Kali, Blake and Sun stood on one side while Akela and Bhaal stood on the other.

A large crowd had gathered in front of the Belladonna home, both human and Faunus. A reporter was explaining the events to a camera crew, several Faunus were recording the event with their scrolls and Bhaal's warriors stood watch while Ghira's stayed near the house. Ghira raised his hand to halt the noise in the crowd.

"**Thank you all for coming," **he greeted. **"I know that there have been many rumors surrounding our island…and it's my responsibility to address them." **Bhaal looked into the crowd to see Corsac and Fennec Albain, the White Fang representatives in Menagerie. They didn't seem to be doing anything, but Bhaal had no intention of letting his guard down.

"Is the message ready?"Corsac asked over the com in his ear.

"_Yes," _Ilia answered. _"Let me know when you're ready." _

"Good," Corsac responded. "Stand by for now."

"**No matter how you feel about the human race, positive or negative, I think we can all agree that the event known as the Fall of Beacon was a terrible tragedy. One that cost both human and Faunus lives and one that will set both of our species back. The main aggressor remains unknown, but we've confirmed that Adam Taurus, a leader of a powerful splinter group in the White Fang, was partially responsible for these attacks." **

"But why would he attack Beacon?" a Faunus asked.

"**I'm not sure why," **Ghira answered. **"But what I am certain of is that his actions have convinced humanity of their hatred for us. The longer this man remains unpunished, the harder it becomes to condemn those responsible for what's happened. We are paying the price for his brutality." **

"What do you mean?" another Faunus asked. "The humans haven't come here."

"**In Mistral, in revenge for the Fall of Beacon, humans have started forming a group called the Wild Hunt," **Ghira explained. **"Their goal is to force all Faunus out of the Kingdoms. Their crimes against us include murder, destroying Faunus-friendly businesses, burning down Faunus homes…this is one of the results of the White Fang's terrorism." **

The crowd started chattering among themselves, wondering if what Ghira said was true. Did the humans form a group solely for the purpose of forcing the Faunus out of the kingdoms for something not their fault? Ghira raised his hand, prompting the crowd to silence.

"**Not long ago, a spy from that same splinter group attacked my daughter and her friends," **Ghira went on. **"While they weren't successful in apprehending the attacker, she was identified as Ilia Amitola, a member of the White Fang serving Adam Taurus. Also, they were managed to obtain her scroll." **The Menagerie Chieftain reached into his coat and pulled it out, showing it to the public.

"**With this, we've discovered that Adam Taurus plans to overthrow the current leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan, and take over the reins himself!" **The crowd gasped at this information. If Adam took control of the White Fang, then there'd be no stopping his atrocities.

"**His radical plans do not stop there! The documents on this scroll claim his next target to be Haven Academy and its attached CCT Tower. Their plan is to strike on the last full moon before the beginning of the Fall Semester, around two months from now."** Before he continued, Bhaal put his hand on his shoulder and leaned to his ear.

"Don't mention the messenger," he whispered. "They don't need to know." He then walked back to the side of the stage.

"**In light of this discovery, we have a big responsibility. If we allow Adam to destroy Haven Academy, things will only digress for our people." **

"Get it ready soon," Corsac instructed Ilia.

"**My relationship with the White Fang has been…a very interesting one. Years ago, I created and led the organization so that I, and any Faunus who wished, may seek equality with the human race. I believe we made great strides towards that goal, but it became clear that many Faunus in and out of the White Fang wanted faster results, so I stepped down and Sienna Khan was appointed as my successor." **

"But she turned the White Fang to terrorism!" another Faunus asked. "How could you condone this?"

"**I don't condone many of her methods; seeking out violence, needless killing. But what I do condone is what Sienna fights for: the belief that humans and Faunus are, and should be, equals. People like her and Adam Taurus believe that violence is the only way to gain the respect we want from humans, but I disagree with that. If Adam is left in charge, then his actions will reflect onto us. So I say we must snuff out this splinter group and restore the White Fang to what it once was!" **

The crowd started to cheer at Ghira's decree. This was going as good as Ghira hoped. He was believing that he would be able to convince the crowd to do the right thing.

"**I believe the course of action is clear! We must go to Haven Academy and defend it at all costs!"**

As soon as he spoke, the cheering died down, much to Ghira's dismay. Bhaal sighed in annoyance, having believed Ghira made a mistake. He had made it sound like they had to put their lives on the line for the humans who discriminated them.

"Why should we fight for them?" a Faunus asked. "They're the reason we're on this island!"

"You seriously want us to defend the same people who discriminated against us?" another Faunus asked. "After everything they've done to us!?"

"**Please, I know we haven't always been treated fairly, but this is something we cannot ignore," **Ghira replied. **"Things will only get worse if we stand by and do nothing." **

"Now, Ilia," Corsac demanded. Ilia took out her scroll and connected it to the loudspeakers, allowing her to take control. On the podium appeared a holographic image of Adam Taurus.

"**People of Menagerie," **Adam addressed. **"My name is Adam Taurus, leader of the White Fang and I have my own message to you." **

"What's going on?" Ghira gasped. "How did-?"

"Disconnect the loudspeakers quick!" Bhaal ordered Akela, to which he nodded.

"**What Ghira Belladonna said to you is true: my men and I were one of those responsible for the Fall of Beacon…and Sienna Khan is dead, murdered by a human Huntsman in revenge for the Fall of Beacon!" **The crowd gasped in horror at this information.

"**You call me a terrorist, a murderer, and a monster…you call me those things because I'm willing to stick my hands in the mud and dirty them with blood for a better future for our people!" **

"Where's that message coming from?" Blake wondered. She looked over to the Albains, but neither of them were holding a scroll in their hand. They couldn't be the ones delivering Adam's message.

"**Ghira Belladonna is a coward. When I served under him, he cared more about making peace with the humans than he did about our lives. When we fought back, even killed humans in self-defense, he scolded us for it. Don't you see? Your Chieftain scolded us for defending ourselves, just as he's most likely scolding all of you for not defending Haven!" **Akela disconnected the loudspeakers, but to everyone's shock, it continued.

"**If you follow Ghira Belladonna, you'll achieve nothing but more discrimination and a status quo with the humans. The White Fang wanted him gone because he valued his principles over our lives. He claims to care about the Faunus, but only cares about being right!" **

The Albains subtly smiled at this turn of events; everything was going better than they hoped. The Faunus of Menagerie were buying into Adam's message, glaring at their Chieftain who had been denounced as a coward.

"**I am a monster and a murderer, but someone has to be! For centuries, our people suffered under the human race simply for being who we are! They're incapable of giving us our freedom and equality willingly." **He reached up to his mask and revealed his face to everyone; the reaction of the crowd was pure shock and horror as they gazed upon the SDC brand on his left eye.

"**If you follow Ghira Belladonna, then this will be the fate of all Faunus! Peace will not work! If we want any actual change for our people, then violence is the only option!" **He then placed his mask back on, knowing the people had looked long enough at it.

"**This is my word to you. If you truly want humanity to stop treating us like animals, then join the White Fang! Join us and you will be welcomed as one of our own. If you do not wish to fight, then we will be the ones to fight for your equality, your respect, your freedom, your right to be seen as more than a slave or second-rate citizen! But if you join Ghira and stand in our way…we will not hesitate to strike you down. I've come too far to let all our efforts be for nothing. I hope you'll make the right choice." **Adam's image disappeared and Ilia quickly hurried away before she could be spotted.

Ghira and Bhaal looked around the crowd. Adam's message had turned some of them against the Chieftain, believing that he was right about Ghira's deeply flawed leadership. The crowd walked away, showing no intention of supporting the mission to defend Haven Academy.

"This isn't good," Akela stated.

"No, it isn't," Bhaal agreed.

Unknown to them, the Albains were smiling. The plan had worked and Menagerie had turned their backs on the mission to defend Haven.

"High Leader Taurus will be pleased," Fennec stated.

"Indeed," Corsac agreed. "But we still have two months before Haven is attacked. Anything can happen."

"What do you suggest we do?" Fennec questioned.

"We'll informed High Leader Taurus and follow his instructions," Corsac answered.

-0-

"How much further?" Yang asked as she drove Bumblebee, the bandit sitting on the back.

"We're just about there," Shay informed. "Hold on." Yang stopped the motorcycle in the middle of a clearing and Shay D. Man leapt off. Before they could act, several bandits wearing Grimm masks resembling Nevermores aimed their rifles at the two of them. The leader was a young woman with short brown hair, blue eyes and wielded a pair of wind and fire blades with built-in guns.

"What the hell are you doing?" she questioned. "You know our laws. No outsiders."

"Who are you?" Yang asked. The woman looked at Yang and smirked, then held up her hand to tell the other bandits to lower their weapons.

"Well, someone has spunk," she complimented. "Why are you here?"

"You serve Raven Branwen, right?" Yang questioned. The woman's smirk turned suspicious before looking at Shay D. Man.

"What did you tell her?" she asked, pointing her gun at him.

"She already knew about her," Shay claimed. "I swear, all I did was bring here! I didn't tell her anything else."

"Why should we trust her?" the woman asked. "For all we know, she could be with the Huntsmen."

"You really think the Huntsmen are concerned with us when Mistral's been an absolute hell?" Shay asked, gaining Yang's attention.

"What do you mean 'an absolute hell'?" she asked. The woman chuckled.

"I don't know whether it's cute or stupid, but you're clearly out of the loop," she responded. "Ever since the Fall of Beacon, the Kingdom of Mistral has turned against the Faunus. Many of them even formed a group called the Wild Hunt, who want to get rid of them. On top of that, many of Mistral's Huntsmen are dead." The woman raised her gun to Yang.

"Now answer me: who are you and what do you want with Raven?" she asked.

"I want to speak to her," Yang answered. The woman scoffed in response.

"And why would she waste her time talking to you?" she questioned.

"Because I'm her daughter."

After Yang said that, the bandits were dead silent, including the leader's. She looked intently at Yang for several moments and started to notice features similar to their leader. Except for the golden hair and iris eyes, she looked like a complete replica of Raven.

"How am I supposed to know you're not lying?" she questioned. "Why shouldn't we just kill you now?"

"I'm not looking for a fight," Yang responded. "I just want to talk with Raven."

The bandits looked at each other, wondering what to do. This blonde young woman didn't look like she was seeking violence, but they couldn't afford to take bad chances. The woman contemplated for several moments before making her decision.

"Alright," she answered. "We'll take you to our camp. But if you try anything, we will kill you. Am I understood?"

"As I said, I'm not looking for a fight," Yang repeated.

"Okay then," the woman responded. "Name's Vernal, by the way. And if you really are Raven's daughter…it's nice to meet you. I didn't know she had one."

Yang groaned a bit at that statement. To know that her mother never even mentioned her to the tribe at all was disheartening. But she had no time to turn back; she needed to speak with Raven and convince her to get to Ruby. It was the quickest way possible.

-0-

The boat arrived and allowed the passengers onboard so repairs could begin. On this ship, the rooms were smaller and only held up to three beds each. Math, Robin and Safirlas bunked in one, Nasser, Ruo and Pyrrha in another and Glaucus had one by himself. As for the man who murdered the Faunus, he was placed in the brig and would be held on charges of manslaughter.

"The Wild Hunt?" Math asked after having been explained about the murderer and the group sat around a table for lunch.

"In revenge for the Fall of Beacon, the Wild Hunt have made it their goal to force all Faunus out of the kingdoms, starting with Mistral," Ruo explained. "Even for Mistral, that's terrible. Faunus discrimination has never been this bad."

"Which is why we must stop the White Fang and Iron Knights from destroying Haven," Saf stated. "If they have their way and the Academy falls, things will get worse, far worse."

"We'll stop them," Glaucus replied. "We must. We should arrive at Anima by tonight. After that, we've no time to waste. We must get to the Anima Express as soon as possible."

"I know, especially since we have no idea when the attack is going to be," Robin stated.

"Well, after some thinking, I think the most logical time for an attack for Salem would be prior to students' return," Glaucus informed. "We've about a month before that happens. However, if we get there soon, we'll have time to gather help and set up a defense."

"Sounds good," Math agreed. "Let's just hope nothing else happens that hinders our progress."

"Don't jinx it," Nasser responded. "I don't know about you guys, but I could use a nap after that battle. Why are we the ones always going up against large Grimm?"

"Maybe the universe just loves putting us in dangerous situations," Robin suggested. "Iron Knights, Tyrannosaur, Grootslang, and now the Gigantes Squid…if we run into one giant Grimm, I'll be convinced that the universe has something against us."

"I don't think so," Pyrrha giggled. "It's the life we chose, the life of a Huntsman…and Huntress."

"Yeah," Math agreed as he rose from the table with Nasser, their plates in their hands. "We'll catch some shuteye before we reach Anima." They put their plates on bins and walked back to their rooms.

"Hey, Math," Nasser asked before they entered their rooms. "Do you really think the universe has a problem with us?"

"I think if the universe had a problem with us, we'd be dead," Math responded. "Every bad situation we've been in, we've come out alive. Not unscathed, but alive." He felt the arm brace under his right sleeve, remembering the night Nachtfel maimed his arm.

"Well, let's hope the universe doesn't decide to screw us over," Nasser said.

**Author's Notes: I hope you're enjoying Volume 5 so far! Many fans consider it to be RWBY's weakest volume, so I hope to improve it in the MRRN series. If you have any constructive criticism you'd like to share, please PM me or leave a review! **


	5. Different Journeys

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 5: Different Journeys**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

Cinder sat in her room, eating some food since she was now much hungrier than ever. Due to her condition, she could barely eat anything without choking, forcing her to eat foods such as stew or soup. Now that she was much better, she was able to eat much more without the fear of vomiting it back up.

In honesty, she had randomly turned to this to deal with he frustration. Ruby was in Mistral, right where Haven Academy was. She had a possible opportunity to get back at the young girl who maimed her body, but even now she was still being denied her rightful vengeance.

What did Salem want with Ruby? Why was she so intent on keeping her alive when she possessed a very dangerous power against her creations? Why was she being denied her vengeance?

"I've…done so much for her," Cinder snarled in her raspy voice, rising from her seat. "Beacon fell…because of me. I killed…Ozpin. I took the Fall…" She burst into a coughing fit, falling to her knees as she covered her mouth. When she retracted it, it was stained with dark red colors.

It was her blood. She had coughed up her own blood.

She squeezed her hand tightly, angered at the sight. Never had she ever seen her own blood shed, except for the time when she nearly killed Pyrrha. She looked at the mirror, her glass patch covering her eye that was scarred by the Amazon of Team JNPR.

"I should've…killed you," Cinder snarled. "I should've killed you, Pyrrha Nikos. One way or another, I'll burn you to ashes."

"Cinder?" a warm, male voice addressed. The Fall Maiden looked back at her bed to see a man that suddenly appeared. He almost looked like an older male version of Cinder Fall with black hair and amber eyes. He sat on the bed with a warm, yet sad expression.

"D…dad?" she asked, her angry expression replaced with one of sadness, an emotion that seemed very foreign to her.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" he asked. "This isn't you."

"You barely know me anymore," Cinder replied solemnly. "You…you left me…with those horrible people."

"I'm sorry, daughter," he apologized. "After your mother died, I thought…they seemed like good people-"

"Well, they weren't!" Cinder barked. "That witch and her bitch daughters abused me every day! While they were lived getting whatever they wanted, I was denied everything. They…they whipped me for even the slightest offense against them."

"_Please no!" a younger Cinder pleaded. "It was an accident! I didn't mean to ruin your dress!" _

"_You little lying bitch!" the sister shouted. "You did it on purpose!" _

"_What is going on here!?" the stepmother questioned. _

"_She threw milk on my dress…on purpose!" the sister claimed. _

"_It was an accident!" Cinder claimed again. "Mother, I didn't-" _

"_Quiet!" she silenced. "You know the punishment for pulling these kinds of stunts!" Cinder's eyes widened in horror. _

"_No!" she cried. "Not the whip!" _

"_Yes the whip!" the mother barked. "Bad children need to be disciplined!" Cinder quickly took off, running down the stairs and through various rooms until she found her hiding spot under the wooden floor in the garage. _

"_Where are you!?" the stepmother demanded to know. "Either you face the whip or you go hungry!" Cinder wrapped herself in her arms, crying from the horrid fate she'd be forced to endure if she was caught. _

"Cinder, if I had known…" the father started, but stopped. "I'm sorry I put you through that. But this isn't who you are."

"What did you expect me to do?" Cinder questioned. "Sing to the birds about how good life is and how wishes come true? That's not how life works, Dad! Not when you're starved and beaten and mistreated for every small thing you do wrong! Everywhere, when I see love and affection, I…" She snarled, tightening her fist.

"Because you think you were denied it," her father stated, making Cinder's eyes widen. "But didn't your mother love you? Didn't I love you?"

"You and Mom weren't there when I needed you!" the Fall Maiden shouted. "You…" She burst into another coughing fit, falling to her knees as she covered her mouth. Again, her hand was stained red with her blood.

"Cinder," her father addressed, taking her hand in his own and gesturing for her to stand up. "You are more than what you have become. You must walk away from this."

"Walk away?" Cinder scoffed. "Walk away from the only way to get what I deserve?

"Walk away from what is destroying your soul," her father corrected and then turned her to face the mirror.

"Close your eyes," he instructed. Cinder didn't see the sense in this, but she still closed them for a few seconds.

"Open." The Fall Maiden looked in the mirror to see herself restored; however, instead of appearing as a seductive devil, she appeared to be a kind and welcoming person, her smile genuine and warm for all to see.

"This is the person you could be," her dad told her as she walked towards the mirror. "You cannot allow Salem to destroy your soul."

"Whatever humanity I had," Cinder replied. "They took from me."

"You hide your pain by pretending to know nothing but anger and pleasure in the suffering of others," her dad pointed out. "But if your humanity is dead, then why am I here?"

Cinder put her head on the mirror, feeling a tear roll down her face. She didn't want to feel that bitter humanity anymore, the one she felt that had been cruelly ripped from her. There was nothing that could be done to save her; all she wanted was to see others robbed of what was stolen from her.

"You cannot save me, Dad," Cinder claimed.

"I can't," he agreed. "You have to save yourself."

"NO!" the Fall Maiden roared. "I'm done being the one to deal with pain! I want everyone to know what it's like to have that ripped away from them! Now get out of my head!" She threw a wave of flame at him, but hit the wall since he was only in her head.

"Cinder?" Emerald called from outside her room. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "Are we ready to go?"

"We are," the thief answered. "We're waiting on you."

"I'll be there in a minute," she responded. She heard footsteps, meaning that Emerald had left.

"I cannot be saved, Dad," Cinder whispered. "And honestly…I don't want to be saved."

-0-

"How much further until we get to Mistral?" Forest asked the pilot he had paid to fly them to the kingdom.

"About tomorrow, provided we don't run into any Grimm," the pilot answered.

"Let's hope not," Sterling agreed. "Thank you for being willing to fly us."

"Hey, your Lien's more than enough," the pilot responded. Forest and Sterling walked over to sit down with Ruadh, leaning against his axe.

"We'll be arriving in Mistral hopefully by tomorrow," Forest informed his teammate.

"Good," the bearded axe user responded. "I hate flying. Why couldn't we have taken a boat or something?"

"Because the coast was days away," Sterling answered. "And that pilot was heading to Mistral anyway to deliver Dust. From what I've heard, the Kingdom has been forced to rely on buying Dust from various users since Atlas declared its Dust Embargo and closed its borders."

"Ironwood is being so short-sighted," Forest criticized. "Salem will come for Atlas sooner or later. When she does, Atlas will have no allies to help them. Vale is still recovering from the Fall of Beacon. Vacuo has never liked Atlas. Mistral…so many things going on in Mistral, including the Wild Hunt."

"Wild Hunt?" Ruadh asked.

"A group of humans who are determined to force the Faunus out of the Kingdoms," Sterling explained as he tended to his bow. "Murder, arson, lynchings…these people lost loved ones at the Fall of Beacon and are turning their hatred towards the Faunus."

"But the White Fang AND Iron Knights are responsible," Ruadh replied. "Why are they only turning their attention to the Faunus?"

"The White Fang is recognized worldwide for their terrorism," Forest answered. "The Iron Knights, on the other hand, haven't drawn much attention to themselves until now. Barely anyone knows anything about them; many of their attacks on the SDC and Huntsmen were blamed on the White Fang. Therefore, the White Fang is the easier target to attack."

"Prejudice at its finest," Ruadh spoke sarcastically.

"Which is why we must save Haven Academy," Forest stated. "If the Academy falls, things will get much, much worse."

"On the bright side, Glaucus will be there," Ruadh brought up. "And he's bringing Mathdon."

"I know," Forest replied, a rather solemn look on his face. "I personally hoped he wouldn't get caught up in this war. But…" He tightened his fist.

Ozpin was to blame for Team MRRN getting involved in the first place. He should never have sent them on that mission, let alone without any support other than Alan Kura. That mission cost Kura his life, nearly cost MRRN their lives, and possibly made Salem believe that they were involved in the conflict between her and Ozpin.

"I should've convinced Math not to go to Beacon," Forest believed. "He wouldn't be involved. I didn't train him to become a soldier in this war."

"Going to Beacon worked out well for the lad," Ruadh explained. "You saw how happy he was. Great friends, great teammates, beautiful girlfriend…he was happy and he deserved it."

Forest couldn't argue there. Mathdon was happy at Beacon before the Fall. He had found friends, love, and fun, something he never had at Aurum. After all he had been through for something he couldn't control, he deserved happiness.

"Yes, you're right," Forest agreed. "Despite everything, he found people who accept him for who he is. That's what I wanted for him."

"Guys, we've got company," the pilot warned as he looked on the radar. The three Huntsmen hurried up and looked to see several red dots following after them.

"This isn't Atlesian airspace," Forest stated. "Those can't be Atlesian."

BOOM!

One of the pursuing ships opened fire on them, hitting its back engine. Everyone stumbled and turned from the force of the impact; only the pilot was able to stop himself from falling down.

"Those definitely aren't Atlesian ships," Forest repeated. "They'd never open fire on a ship without hailing first."

"Iron Knights!" Ruadh called out as he looked out the window. Forest and Sterling looked as well to see several ships that appeared to have been stolen from the Atlesians and repainted in a black and red color scheme.

"Do we have any offensive weapons on here?" Ruadh asked the pilot.

"This is a cargo ship," the pilot reminded the axe wielder. "We don't have any turrets or anything like that."

"Is there anywhere to fire from with a rocket launcher?" Ruadh asked.

"The only place is the entrance," the pilot answered.

"Open it," Ruadh instructed. "The Iron Knights mustn't shoot us down." The pilot opened the side entry door, causing the wind to rush through the ship as Ruadh attached a harness and tether to himself. He then loaded his weapon and walked over to the open entrance.

When he looked outside, only two of the Iron Knights ships could be seen; the rest were unable to be fired upon without the risk of hitting the cargo ship. Ruadh lined his weapon up with the first ship and fired, hitting the right wing and sending it into the ocean.

"Come back in!" Forest told Ruadh as he pulled him back into the ship. "They're getting ready to fire again!"

"Strap in and hold on!" the pilot instructed. Forest, Ruadh and Sterling sat down in their seats as the Iron Knight ships opened fire again. The pilot maneuvered around the gatling fire coming from their pursuers.

"There's several Grimm-infested areas ahead," Forest pointed out as the ship approached small islands being held up by Gravity Dust. "Fly through there."

"Are you insane?!" the pilot gasped. "Those Grimm could tear us apart!"

"The Iron Knights are the ones projecting negativity, not us," Forest stated. "Just do it. If this keeps up, they'll shoot us down." The pilot contemplated the decision for a moment.

The Iron Knights were keeping up with their barrage in them and they outnumbered their ship 10 to 1; his skillful maneuvering and dodging wouldn't last forever against that many.

On the other hand, going through the Grimm territory was a high-risk, high-reward move. It'd definitely risk endangering them, but Forest was right: the Grimm would be most likely to go after the Iron Knights since they were the ones projecting negativity.

"Alright," the pilot conceded. "Strap in and hold on. This is going to be a hell of a bumpy ride." The pilot flew the ship through the floating islands, the Iron Knights still in pursuit of them.

They flew swiftly around the islands, but to their surprise, the Iron Knights ceases their barrage on them. They focused solely on keeping the three Huntsmen in their sight for the time being.

"Why did they stop firing?" the pilot asked.

"Possibly to avoid causing rubble to fall on their ships," Forest deduced. "These islands don't look too stable."

WHOOSH! A quick black, white and red wind flew past them, towards one of the Iron Knights' ships.

"What was that?!" the pilot shouted.

"Grimm," Forest stated. "Keep going! If any Grimm attack us, we'll take care of them!" The pilot kept flying through the floating islands as the Grimm started to descend upon them.

As the eagle swordsman thought, because the Iron Knights were projecting more negativity, the Grimm were more attracted to them. They piled onto the Knights' ships and dug their teeth into them, some of them even managing to pull some of the Knights out of their aircrafts.

"What Grimm are those?" Ruadh asked when they finally got a good look at them. They looked like giant humanoids with wings for arms, three razor claws on each hand, horns, and large, sharp teeth that allowed them to easily bite through the metal.

"Harpies," Sterling stated. "And some of them are coming for us!"

"Open the entrance doors!" Forest told the pilot. "Sterling, get a harness and tether on! We need to keep these creatures off the ship." The eagle swordsman and Snow Fox Faunus put on harnesses and tethers as the Harpies flew after them.

"Well, at they got rid of the Iron Knights," Ruadh pointed out, their radar showing no enemy ships. The entrances opened and the two Huntsmen took their spots, preparing to shoot down the Harpies.

Forest activated Rohkeus's assault rifle form and held it up, waiting for the Harpies to come closer so he wouldn't waste ammo. When they came into sight, he pulled the trigger and gunned down three of them. The Harpies let out bone-chilling shrieks that unsettled the pilot, the noise akin to a loud and violent hiss.

Sterling shot down whatever Harpies he could with skillful shots from his double bow. One of the Harpies almost made it onto the ship, but Sterling took it down before it could attach itself, falling to its death as it dissolved into ash. Another one flew right at the Faunus; instead of nocking an arrow, Sterling drew one from his quiver and drove it into the Grimm's face before kicking it off.

"Guys, some of them are biting damaging the engine!" the pilot warned. "They'll cause the ship to crash!"

"I'll take care of it!" Forest assured as he detached his harness and leapt out.

"What are you doing!?" the pilot shouted.

"He'll be fine," Ruadh assured.

Indeed, Forest had transformed into his Golden Eagle form and flew up to the top of the aircraft where several Harpies were starting to tear apart the engine and seemed to rip open the gas pipe on the side of the ship. When he got close enough, he turned back into his human form and unsheathed his blade.

He slashed away two of the Harpies that were tearing up the engine, causing them to dissolve into dust. One of them slashed at him from the side, letting out a shriek as it did, but Forest blocked it with his shield gauntlet before slashing its arm off and then then its head.

The last one was gnawing on the gas pipe, trying to rip it open and cause the aircraft to plummet. Forest held onto the ship, pointing Rohkeus at the Grimm and blasted it apart.

"_Quick, get inside!" _Sterling informed Forest through a telepathic link. _"We're almost away from the islands!" _

"_Keep the entrance open!" _Forest replied. He shifted into his Golden Eagle form and flew into the ship, turning back into a human as he landed.

"Hold on!" the pilot warned. He put as much power into the engine as he could, flying right out of the islands as the Grimm fell behind them. Finally, the Grimm gave up and returned to their islands, shrieking angrily as they did.

"You guys are nuts!" the pilot told them. "Why were Iron Knights firing on us?"

"Probably to prevent Dust from getting to Mistral," Sterling deduced. "It's possible that they know of the Kingdom having to rely on other means of getting it with Atlas's borders closed."

"Well, at least we lost them," the pilot stated. "But we have another problem."

"What is it?" Forest asked.

"The gas line is damaged," he informed. "We don't have enough gas to make it to Mistral."

"Can it be fixed?" Ruadh asked.

"I don't have the tools necessary to fix it," the pilot solemnly answered. "I'll have to land at the first town we see. If I can't get this fixed, I'm sorry. I won't be able to fly you the rest of the way to Mistral."

"Let's just get to Anima first and see what happens," Forest responded as he sat down. "But I hope we can fix it. Mistral depends on it."

-0-

"Oh, thank Gods," Pyrrha laughed as she and everyone got off the boat. She never imagined how uncomfortable boat rides would be for her, so she was so happy to finally get off.

"I didn't know you disliked boat rides so much," Math teased.

"I'd never been on one before," she replied. "I honestly hope I never have to again."

"Faunus filth!" the murderer shouted as he was escorted off the boat by two warriors. "This is all your fault!" Math was about to head over and smash the man's head in, but Glaucus stopped him by holding up his staff.

"Hold on…those aren't Mistral officers," Safirlas pointed out. Instead of the usual officer uniform, which was reminiscent of Mistral's ancient samurai, they were dresses in kimonos with haori over them. Their weapons included a rifle that appeared to have five bullet magazines on one, a MG on the other, and both had what Math recognized as a Jian sword, different from the traditional katana.

"You guys aren't Mistral military," Saf addressed, causing them to look at her. While one stayed behind, the other took the murderer to the local jail.

"We're not," he admitted. "We're the newly formed militia, serving under the command of Silvio Steel."

"Militia?" Math asked.

"Yes," the militiaman confirmed. "Things have gotten real bad in Mistral ever since the Fall of Beacon. That man we arrested is a member of the Wild Hunt, a group of humans who have been committing atrocities against the Faunus in revenge for the loss of their loved ones."

"Wild Hunt?" Ruo asked. "How far are they going?"

"Very far," the militiaman explained. "They're determined to get rid of the Faunus. With so many Huntsmen dead and their numbers stretched thin across the kingdom, Silvio Steel decided to assemble a militia to keep the peace."

"Who's Silvio Steel?" Saf asked. "Is he a student at Haven?"

"No," the militiaman replied. "He's from the upper class in Mistral. His family's connections make this militia possible so we can keep peace until everything settles down."

"How many are under his command?" Glaucus asked.

"A lot," the militiaman answered. "If I had to guess, probably around enough to have his own private army."

"Where is he now?" the Gray Wanderer questioned.

"Last I heard, he was on the Anima Express, helping Team COAL keep it safe," the militiaman explained. When Saf heard the name COAL, her eyes widened before shaking her head.

"Oh no," she grumbled.

"What is it?" Math asked.

"Team COAL," she answered. "One of them…she's a real sadist sometimes."

"Sadist?" the swordsman asked. "She bullies people?"

"Not like that," Saf corrected. "She's not a bully; instead, she's rather sadistic towards them and in combat."

"You must be talking about Luna Crescentia," the militiaman deduced. "I agree, she's pretty hot, but…I wouldn't date her because of how she can be."

"Did she do something to you?" the autistic swordsman questioned, wanting to know if he needed to knock some sense into this mystery girl.

"I'd rather not say," Saf replied. "And no, Math. You don't need to beat her up."

"If you say," Math reluctantly agreed.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to report back to Mistral," the militiaman excused himself.

"Do you know Silvio Steel?" Robin asked his cousin.

"No," she replied. "But if he's the leader of this militia, maybe he can help us."

"Indeed," Glaucus agreed. "With Silvio's forces and whatever Huntsmen we can find, we'll have a better chance of defending Haven Academy."

"Sounds great," Pyrrha agreed. "So which way is the train station for the Anima Express?" Glaucus took out his scroll and activated its compass. After a few seconds, he knew which way to go.

"It's northeast of our position," he informed. "Provided we only stop at night, we should arrive in three days hopefully."

"Or run into anymore trouble," Nasser added. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but why is it so hard to have a peaceful journey for once?"

"You want a peaceful journey?" Robin teased. "Man, I'm guessing you have grown up after all."

"Shut up," he replied. "So are we going?"

"We're going," Glaucus stated. "Does everyone have everything they need?" All of them answered positive, checking their belongings to make sure they had everything.

"Alright," the Gray Wanderer spoke. "Let's go. It'll be nightfall in a few hours and we'll need to find a good place to camp for the night."

"Mistral, here we come," Math spoke.

As they started to walk, Pyrrha moved over to her beloved and held his hand as they moved forward with the group.

**Author's Notes: The militia's uniform is based off the Shinsengumi uniform. This idea was provided by Darth Stigma.**


	6. Reunions

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 6: Reunions **

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Yang followed Vernal to the Branwen Camp, finally arriving. All she could see right now was a large wooden gate and walls surrounding the entire camp, making it appear unbreachable to anyone without the proper tools and weapons.

"Vernal?" one of the bandits called out from on top. "Who's that?"

"Open the gate," she demanded. "I'll explain later."

"I'm here to see Raven," Yang spoke up, earning her a surprised glance from Vernal. The bandit scoffed in reply.

"And why would Raven waste her time-"

"Because I'm her daughter, Yang Xiao Long."

The bandit's reaction was complete shock. He never knew that his leader had a daughter, especially such a beautiful one. However, she had no proof of her being related to Raven.

"Open the gate," another bandit ordered. "The Chieftain demands it." The bandit on the wall pulled a lever and raised the gate. Everyone walked inside the walls into the Branwen Tribe Camp.

It was nothing more than crates, tents, and full of murderers and thieves. The only thing that grabbed Yang's attention was the large tent in the near back of the camp, which was undoubtedly Raven's considering she was leader. Yang walked up until she was about two meters away from it and stopped, the rest of the bandits surrounded behind her.

She came out of the tent, wearing the same Nevermore mask she had seen on the Mt. Glenn mission. She wore the same red and black clothes, wielded the same sword, and carried the same presence; it was undoubtedly the woman Yang had spent her life looking for.

Raven froze for a few seconds before removing her mask, showing her face for the first time to her daughter. Except for the feathery black hair, red eyes and pale skin, she looked like a complete replica of Yang.

"Yang," she greeted as she put her mask down on a crate.

"Raven," Yang reciprocated, crossing her arms.

"I never expected to see you here," the Branwen said. "But I guess it's about time you found me." Yang tightened her fist. The first time she meets her mom face-to-face and she pins the blame on her for not finding her.

"I spent years looking for you," she informed her mother. "You knew that."

"And you succeeded," Raven congratulated. "You were determined, patient and disciplined. You being here now is proof of how hard you worked for what you wanted."

"Don't do that," Yang sharply interrupted. "You're going to blame me for not finding you? You abandoned me." Raven's proud scowl changed to a stoic one, her attempts at being welcome thrown out the window.

"What do you want?" she asked, trying to ignore what she had just said.

"I need your help," Yang explained. "And I need yours specifically." Raven raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued.

"Why's that?" she asked.

"Ruby is here, in Anima," Yang stated.

"I know." Yang's eyes widened in surprise.

"You know?" the blonde brawler gasped.

"Yes. And I'd suggest you don't go after her."

"Why would I do that?" Yang questioned.

Raven sighed. She knew too well what Ruby was caught up in and her brother was doing. Just like her own teammates, Ozpin had drafted two more teams into his war against Salem, one of them including Yang and Ruby. She feared what would happen should Yang go after her.

"You don't want to get mixed up in that, Yang," Raven insisted. "Your sister is with Qrow, so she's a lost cause."

"A lost cause?" Yang questioned, her anger towards her mother slowly rising with every moment. Right off the bat, she blamed Yang for not finding her when she had completely abandoned her when she was born. Now she was possibly insulting her sister. Tai was being proven right; this was not the woman he had fallen in love with years ago.

"Just like Ozpin did to you, Qrow roped her into this war," Raven explained.

"War?" Yang asked, unsure of what her mother meant. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Ozpin," Raven clarified. "He's not the man you think he is. He knew that you, your team and Team MRRN weren't ready for those missions and he sent you anyway."

"Not ready?" Yang asked in disbelief. "We caught Roman. We saved Vale."

"No, all you did was delay the inevitable for Ozpin's failure," Raven patronized. "You were nearly killed against Roman's lackey. Your team was nearly killed. Team MRRN was nearly killed and Ozpin sacrificed the lives of one of his lieutenants."

"Professor Kura," Yang remembered.

"Yes. Ruby is caught up in that, so she's a lost cause."

"If that's what you think, then I NEED to go after her," Yang responded.

"Then why not take your motorcycle?" Raven asked, gesturing to her daughter's vehicle.

"Because there's no telling if Ruby made it to Mistral," Yang replied. "Searching for her in Anima could take ages, which is time I don't have. But…Dad told me how your Semblance works." Raven looked away.

"Tai."

"You can bond to certain people," her daughter explained. "And when you do, you can create portals that lead right to them. You have one for Dad, one for me, and one for Qrow." Raven shook her head, knowing of who Ozpin truly was, and could clearly see that Yang didn't.

"Yang, you do not want to get mixed up in that," she warned again. "If you go after her, you will get involved in something you don't want to."

"Why would you care?" Yang challenged. "You haven't spoken to me in eighteen years. You didn't send any letters, you didn't contact me…did they even know I existed? Because from what Vernal told me, you never said anything."

Raven hid the ashamed look on her face, knowing her daughter was right. She had made no contact with her for years, nothing. She was practically nonexistent in her life since the day she was born. She recollected herself and looked at Yang. Before she could speak, someone shouted "She's escaping!"

Everyone's attention was turned to the left of the camp. What Yang saw shock her: Weiss Schnee.

"Weiss!" Yang called out, making the heiress stop in her tracks and look at her teammate.

"Yang!?" she replied. She didn't catch on to two bandits, tackling her to the ground, prompting Yang to action. She punched one bandit into the wall and the next, she grabbed his arm and snapped his elbow.

"Keep your hands off her!" she snarled. The rest of the tribe was about to attack until a lightning strike halted them. The source of it was apparently Vernal, holding Weiss's rapier.

"Stop it!" she demanded. "Do you want to attract the Grimm!?"

"That's enough," Raven stated. "Vernal, give back her weapon." Vernal looked surprised at her leader before begrudgingly complying and tossing the heiress Myrtenaster from a distance.

"What are you doing here?" Weiss asked as she wiped the dust off her new combat skirt.

"That's my mom," Yang gestured to Raven. "She can get us to Ruby." Weiss's eyes widened at this revelation before becoming angry.

"Your mom kidnapped me!?" she questioned, much to Yang's ire.

"You kidnapped her!?" she questioned, her eyes turning red. Vernal raised one of her weapons and aimed at Yang.

"Calm down," she demanded. Raven gestured for her to lower her weapon, allowing Yang to calm and her eyes to return to their normal lilac color.

"Why are you insistent that I not go after Ruby?" Yang questioned her mother.

"If you want to go after her, then you need to know the truth," Raven responded. "We'll talk in my tent." As soon as she walked in, Yang and Weiss looked at each other.

"You okay?" Yang asked her friend. Instead of speaking, she merely wrapped her arms around Yang.

"I missed you so much," she said, prompting Yang to return the embrace.

-0-

Glaucus examined the area as everyone sat down to rest from the long walks. The area seemed ideal for a camping spot; it was on a hill so danger could be spotted much easier. There were plenty of boulders and foliage to hide under in case of anything, such as a large, flying Grimm that would be best avoided. There was plenty of space for them to lay down and rest on their sleeping bags. From where he was standing, this was a good camping spot.

"We'll camp here for the night," he informed everyone.

When everyone put their belongings down, Math and Robin went off to gather firewood and start a campfire. Nasser took out the map and sat down with Glaucus, discussing where to go next. Pyrrha and Safirlas laid out the sleeping bags around the place, making sure they were at comfortable locations.

"Where are you going, Ruo?" Math asked the White Tiger Faunus.

"I'm familiar with this part of Anima," he answered. "I'm going to see if I can hunt something."

"Stay safe," Math told him as the Faunus walked off from the campsite, nodding his head.

Not only did he go to hunt, Ruo's mind also ran over the thought of returning to Mistral. It was his home at a point in his life, but now…it was just some far-off destination that held nothing but pain for him.

Like Atlas, Mistral was prejudiced against the Faunus much worse than Vale or Vacuo. When he went to Vale, he expected people wanting to lynch him just for being a Faunus.

When he heard of the Faunus complaining about how bad things were in Vale, he wanted to tell them to go to Mistral or Atlas and see how lucky they had it. In Vale, murder of Faunus was rare; the worst that they often got was terrible mistreatment and being treated as a second-class citizen.

The treatment of Faunus was worse in Mistral. Faunus being arrested for crimes they often didn't commit just because a human pointed a finger at them. Humans allowed to deny Faunus entry into their businesses completely instead of just being unfriendly and making them pay more. Faunus illegally given below minimum wages instead of having a slight deduction of twenty or fifty cents.

Ruo thought he'd never have to go back to the kingdom, but here he was. Not because he wanted to, but because his teammates were the only family he had now. Mathdon, Robin, and Nasser…they were his brothers now.

He stopped as it hit him. He had no home to go to if he had graduated Beacon. He had nothing to offer Yang if they had stayed together, even married. However, as he knew Yang, that wouldn't stop her from wanting to be with him.

Now that his relationship with Yang was over, he had no home to go back to. His home had been cruelly ripped away from him when he was only a child. All this time, he blamed Grant Denim for this, but after learning the truth from him, he even blamed his father as well.

Dr. Guiren Bai Hu, who had changed his last name to his wife's to show support for the Faunus, had betrayed his Hippocratic oath when he refused to help Grant's young daughter who was in need of medicine. Why would he refuse to do so? It made no sense; his father was a kind and honorable man.

He wanted to think that Grant was a liar, but he could see the sincerity in his expressions and in his voice. When he heard the voice of his young daughter, he realized how history would repeat itself; he would've killed Grant the same way his father did and leave a child without a parent.

Ruo was starting to regret coming back to Anima, even if Haven was in danger. The news of the Wild Hunt had disturbed him greatly ever since they learned about them. Things were already bad for the Faunus in Mistral; the Wild Hunt would make it far worse for them, for him.

He broke out of his thoughts when he saw a deer eating. Ruo activated his Invisibility and slowly made his way closer to the animal. He stayed low to the ground, taking careful steps to remain quiet and hide his presence from the deer.

Suddenly, he sensed the presence of another, one that the deer also sensed. The animal quickly scurried off into the forest, much to Ruo's frustration.

"You've gotten slow," a female voice called, making the White Tiger's eyes widen. He became visible again and rose onto his feet and could see hints of yellow in the tall grass across from him. Someone else rose up from the grass and showed herself.

Her long blonde hair looked like a lion's mane, some of which hid her brown eyes from certain angles. Her attires consisted of a sleeveless yellow and white coat, white black pants going down to her knees and brown sandals. She stood at a little under Ruo's height, around 5 feet and 8 inches. She was easily identified as a Faunus due to her lion tail.

"Jinse," he addressed as he hurried over and the two hugged. "It's been such a long time."

"It has," she agreed. "Nice mustache."

"Thanks," he replied.

"I heard about the Fall of Beacon," she said, bringing up that horrible memory for the White Tiger. "I was so worried about you. I was fearing that something happened to you."

"I'm fine, Jinse…mostly," Ruo answered.

"What brings you back?" she asked.

"Those responsible for the Fall of Beacon have set their sights on Haven next," the White Tiger informed his mentor. "We're on our way to stop it."

"We?" the Lioness asked.

"My teammates and I, along with some friends," the White Tiger answered. "Our campsite's just a small bit away." He led Jinse to the campsite, where his companions could immediately see them.

"Ruo!" Math greeted before seeing the Lioness Faunus. "Wait…who's she?"

"Jinse Mu Shi, my mentor," Ruo informed his team leader. "Jinse, there are my teammates, Mathdon, Robin and Nasser. With us is Glaucus, Safirlas and Pyrrha."

"So she's the one who taught you martial arts?" Robin asked. "Glad to meet you."

"And all of you as well," Jinse greeted. "I'm happy to see Ruo with such good friends. But is what he said about Haven is true? That it's being targeted?"

"Yes," Ruo answered. "The White Fang and Iron Knights are responsible for the Fall of Beacon. They're targeting Haven next."

"The White Fang attacked Beacon?" Jinse gasped before sighing. "I knew Sienna was going too far."

"Sienna Khan wasn't there at the Fall of Beacon," Ruo revealed. "Adam Taurus led the assault. He…crippled someone I cared about." Everyone immediately thought of Yang, excluding Jinse, but they decided it was best not to bring it up.

"That would explain the Wild Hunt," the Lioness deduced. "Ever since the Fall of Beacon, things have gone from bad to horrible for the Faunus in Mistral."

"You've been to Mistral recently?" Pyrrha asked.

"Only the outskirts," Jinse answered. "I prefer not to be in the major cities. Far too racist there. But the Wild Hunt is becoming a huge issue there."

"If Haven falls, things will only get worse for the Faunus," Safirlas brought up. "Would you be willing to help us?"

Jinse was quiet for a minute. Ruo knew too well of her dislike for the Kingdoms due to their mistreatment of Faunus. Asking her to go seemed like no small favor of her since she herself was a Faunus would definitely be victimized by the humans there.

"Jinse, it's about more than just the White Fang or Iron Knights," Ruo spoke.

"What do you mean?" she asked. The White Tiger looked over to Glaucus, who nodded his head in reply since he trusted Ruo's judgment. The White Tiger then explained everything to his mentor that Glaucus had told them. Her expression changed from intrigued to surprised to shocked as he continued the flow of information. When he was done, Jinse's expression showed her processing everything she had just been told.

"So, this Salem is the one responsible for the Fall of Beacon?" she questioned.

"Yes," Ruo confirmed. "She's managed to rally the White Fang and Iron Knights to her side. If she gets the Relics, we're doomed. All of us."

"If it's that dire…then count me in," the Lioness decided. "For your sake, I'll accompany you." Ruo smiled and hugged his mother figure, who returned the embrace.

"It's good to see you again," Jinse told her student. "We've some catching up to do." Ruo nodded his head in agreement.

As the night went on, Ruo and Jinse spoke of everything that had happened ever since he left for Vale. His friendships with the members of his team, his relationship with Yang, which had ended, and finding the man who killed his father, but ultimately decided to spare his life.

"So they know?" Jinse asked.

"Only my teammates and Pyrrha," Ruo corrected. "Safirlas and Glaucus don't know. But for now, I'd prefer to keep it that way."

"Of course," the Lioness supported. "I'm sorry things didn't work out with that young woman. She sounded very kind and trustworthy."

Ruo didn't want to admit it, but he missed the Yang he fell in love with. She was cheerful, kind, supportive, flirty, and loyal. She was strong and protective of those she loved, which reminded him of Math at times. She was beautiful: her flowing golden hair, her lilac colored eyes, her curvaceous body…she was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside.

That woman was gone. The Yang he knew now was depressed, selfish and unwilling to look past her pain. She declared that everything they had was worthless to her, meaning he was worthless to her. He felt petty for leaving her after their fight, but his patience was worn out. He was done trying to help her get on her feet when she has a solution, yet she continued to remain stuck in her self-pity.

"I…I miss her," he forced himself to confess, knowing how he felt deep down.

"Guys, dinner's ready!" Math called out.

-0-

Ghira paced the room of his study, all of his family and lieutenants there. He was frustrated about how the rally went; instead of convincing the Faunus to join their cause, they had bought into Adam's message and were content with letting the White Fang destroy Haven.

"This is a mess," Ghira groaned. "I gave Adam a perfect opportunity to spread his message."

"It's not your fault, Mr. Belladonna," Sun assured. "You didn't know."

"That's not the bad part," the Menagerie Chieftain stated. "They're starting to think he's right. They're starting to think that the right thing to do is let Adam Taurus have his way and destroy Haven."

"We have one trump card," Akela brought up. "You didn't mention the messenger, so the White Fang doesn't know that the Mistral government will be informed. At least they'll be prepared."

"That won't matter if they don't have the forces to repel Adam's forces," Bhaal brought up. "Mistral has been in chaos ever since the Fall of Beacon. They'll need reinforcements, but with Adam having turned the public against the mission to protect Haven, it'll be harder than we thought."

"So we convince them why Adam's way is wrong," Blake stated. "This terrorism will reflect on us."

"Indeed," Kali agreed. "Because of Sienna's leadership, fear is what drove the humans to respect us for the first time. Sadly, it's also fear that's turning humanity's hatred towards us. If we don't prove their fear of us wrong, then things will go back to what they were: Faunus in cages, working in the mines as slaves and slaughtered for sport."

"I don't know if holding another rally will be a good idea after what Adam did," Akela suggested. "It may just worsen the populace's reaction to our mission."

"Then we need to find those willing," Ghira insisted. "Blake, Sun, Akela, I'd like you to head out tomorrow and start gathering signatures. We must gain any help we can get."

"We will," Blake complied.

After the meeting concluded, Blake went outside to the balcony, asking Ghira's guard to leave her by herself. She then leaned on the railing and sighed.

Their attempt to persuade the Faunus of Menagerie against Adam Taurus had allowed him to send out his own message and turn them against her father. He had denounced Ghira as a coward who valued his principles of pacifism over the lives of his followers, which many Faunus seemed to believe.

Blake remembered the White Fang under her father's leadership. He always pushed for peaceful situations, even when it didn't seem possible. She didn't like violence either, but after her experiences under his and Sienna's leadership, she was doing something she never thought she'd do: doubt her father.

"Blake," a voice addressed, belonging to Ilia Amitola. Blake reached over to the door, preparing to alert the guards.

"Wait!" she gasped. "I'm just here to talk." Blake hesitated for a moment for pulling her hand away from the door.

"It was you," she accused. "You allowed Adam to spread his message to the people."

"I didn't have a choice," Ilia replied. "I don't like hurting people, but it's getting us results. We are finally getting respect."

"Through fear. It's also fear that's driving the Wild Hunt to hurt innocent Faunus in Mistral. How can you not see what your actions have done!?"

"We know about the Wild Hunt…and High Leader Taurus is preparing to deal with them." Blake's eyes widened.

"You can't kill them," she insisted.

"Why not?" Ilia questioned. "They kill us every day. Why should we allow the humans to push us around like your father did?" Ilia took off her mask and looked at Blake with a stern expression.

"Tell me to my face that you completely support your father's peaceful ways, of not fighting back."

"This isn't fighting back!" Blake told the Chameleon Faunus. "This is terrorism. How long will it be before humanity decides to turn us back into slaves like we once were?"

"Slaves!?" Ilia nearly barked. "Where was your parents' help when the Dust Companies hunted us down for being who we are? Where was your parents' help when Jacques Schnee branded Adam's face like a cow? Where was your parents' help when my own died in a Dust Mine? Where!?"

Blake was shocked silent by Ilia's words. To the Chameleon, her parents had allowed so much injustice to happen and did nothing about it. They kept pushing on for peaceful solutions, never seeking vengeance or justice in any way.

"Humanity pushed us to this," Ilia told the Cat in a calm voice, recovering from her outburst. "We're done being treated like animals. Whether you like it or not, your father's leadership is wrong; how can we gain respect for ourselves when we allow the humans to push us around? You've seen it yourself."

This made Blake realize that Ilia had some truth to her words. When she was at Beacon, she stood by and did nothing while other Faunus were mistreated at the Academy, mostly out of fear of being discovered as being a Faunus herself. When they did nothing to protect themselves, all it did was tell the human bullies and racists that it was perfectly okay to mistreat them. This fear had made her a hypocrite, a mistake she was determined not to repeat. Now she was considering if allowing only peaceful solutions was a mistake as well.

"I will do what's best for the Faunus," Blake told Ilia. "But one way or another, we will stop you." Ilia's face dropped to a sad expression. She didn't want to fight against her old friend, but she had to do so for the sake of the Faunus.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way, Blake," Ilia apologized. "I wish we could've stayed friends." She put her mask back on and leapt away from the balcony.

Blake contemplated everything she had learned from her experiences in and out of the White Fang and tried reaching a conclusion. Faunus needed to defend themselves, but they shouldn't seek out violence as a first resort.

Should they simply change the White Fang to what it once was? Or should they change it for the better to keep history from repeating itself?

**Author's Notes: Several stories I've been reading are **

**The Wanderer by Red Eyes Shadow Dragon **

**ALMD: Volume 1 by Je'daii1298 **

**Team SLVR: A Beacon of Hope by DarkHero12 **

**Team PALDN by PaladinofArgyle **

**SLFR by Maelstrom123**

**I also want to thank everyone for showing support for my Fanfic series! Make sure to show support for other writers as well!**


	7. Truths, Training and Transportation

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 7: Truths, Training and Transportation**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

Ruby was on the balcony with Oscar, who had been training ever since Qrow started his search for Huntsmen. Right now, they were in the middle of a hand-to-hand match while Jaune, Nora and Ren were watching.

Ren could sense his teammates' distrust towards the young farm boy who harbored the spirit of the man who had forced their friend into something against their will. By no means did Ren trust Ozpin either, but he wasn't about to show enmity towards Oscar for something he had no control over.

"Oscar's picking up on these skills rather quickly," Ren pointed out to his teammates. Neither of them responded.

"Jaune? Nora?"

"Don't, Ren," the Arc replied. "We can't trust him, not after what he did to Pyrrha."

"Ozpin needs to work to regain our trust, definitely," Ren agreed. "But we cannot hold Oscar responsible for deeds he himself did not commit."

"We don't know Oscar at all," Jaune replied. "For all we know, he may just be some kind of trick or masquerade to earn our trust back. Maybe Oscar isn't even real."

"Jaune!" Ren sternly told his team leader. The Arc was taken back by this, almost never hearing Ren's voice rise.

"What Ozpin did was reprehensible. If he's truly sorry for what he did, then he will atone for his mistakes. But I'm willing to give Oscar a chance; we don't know the full story of his reincarnation works. We can't just jump to conclusions because we don't trust him."

Ruby cried out in pain after Oscar punched her in the face. He immediately tried to apologize, but left him open to the scythe user kicking him to the ground. She then cheered over her victory.

"_You need to engage your Aura during combat," _Ozpin told Oscar.

"Why didn't you tell me that?" he asked with frustration in his tone.

"_To make you more likely to remember on your own. As I said, even though you'll inherit my muscle memory and experience in time, you must strengthen your own body and Aura." _Ruby walked over to Oscar and helped him up onto his feet.

"How was that?" she asked with a smirk. Oscar's eyes glowed, meaning that Ozpin was now in control.

"_Very impressive, Ms. Rose," _he congratulated. _"However, Oscar doesn't have the experience you and I do." _He engaged his green Aura, meaning he was getting ready to fight.

"Um…maybe we should take a break," Ruby nervously suggested. Without warning, Ozpin unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks on her, prompting her to quickly raise her arms and block as many as she could. However, some of them managed to land on her and eventually knock her down.

"_You're improving, but you're still lacking," _Ozpin declared. _"You must be aware of any and all openings." _

"Got it," Ruby responded. Oscar's eyes glowed again and he immediately collapsed onto his hands and knees. The reaped hurried over to him to make sure he was okay.

"It's so exhausting," Oscar said.

"At first, yes," Ren pointed out. "Activating your Aura for the first several times requires immense concentration, but eventually, it becomes second habit. Then you can start focusing on your Semblance."

"Excuse me, but Ozpin never fully explained to me what an Aura or a Semblance is," Oscar brought up.

"No surprise," Nora commented.

"Aura is the manifestation of one's soul," Ren explained. "It can be used for a wide range of abilities, but they differ depending on experience and training. Every Huntsman and Huntress has theirs activated, commonly for defense. Our Auras allow us to be protected from attacks, but if it's hit enough times, it will be depleted."

"What about Semblance?" Oscar asked.

"Semblance is a more tangible form of Aura. It's what many would consider to be like a superpower and it differs for every person. For example, my Semblance allows me to mask negative emotions, hiding me from Grimm. Ruby's allows her to move at superhuman speeds. Nora can absorb electricity to become stronger."

"What about Jaune?" Oscar asked. The Arc looked away with some shame in his scowl.

Even now, despite his improvements in his fighting, he still hadn't unlocked his Semblance. He still felt like a hindrance to the team, which he hated feeling like. He wanted to be more; not for himself before he was blackmailed by Cardin Winchester, but for those he had travelled with.

"Have you ever fought Grimm?" Jaune asked Oscar, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Well…only the small ones," the farm boy answered. "We never fought any big ones like Ursae or Death Stalkers."

"Ever held a sword?" Jaune questioned.

"Where are you going with this, Jaune?" Ruby asked, her eyes focused on the Arc leader.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just trying to be careful around the man who traumatized and nearly killed our teammate."

"Oscar is not Ozpin," Ruby defended. "Don't be unfair to him." Just then, Oscar's eyes glowed.

"_Mr. Arc, I had no choice," _he stated. _"The Maiden powers were too dangerous to let fall into Cinder's hands. I made a desperate decision." _

"And Pyrrha paid the price!" Jaune barked. "You don't get to play with peoples' lives, Ozpin!"

"_I'm not proud of what I did, but I believed it was necessary for the safeguarding of Remnant." _

"Necessary?" Nora scoffed. "Easy for you to say when you weren't the one in that capsule."

"_None of you understand the danger Salem poses. She's powerful enough as she is. I needed to secure the Maiden's powers or she'd have access-" _

"SHUT UP!" Jaune shouted. He threw his arm back and punched Ozpin in the face. As soon as he was laying on the ground, Ruby and Ren immediately hurried to his side.

"_I'm sorry, all of you," _Ozpin apologized before he allowed Oscar to take over. As he did, he groaned from the pain of Jaune's punch.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked. "Did only you feel that?"

"I don't think Ozpin felt anything," Oscar revealed. Ruby glared at the leader of JNPR and marched over to him.

"What was that for!?" she barked. "I know you're angry at Ozpin, but that only hurt Oscar!"

"He's lying," Jaune dismissed. "We can't trust anything about him. For all we know, he may not be real."

"You don't even know him! What Ozpin did was wrong and he must make up for it, but that doesn't you get to hurt Oscar."

"He's a fake!"

Jaune stumbled when he felt a sharp pain on his cheek. When he recovered, he put his hand over it and realized what had just happened. Ruby had slapped him.

"Stop it!" she demanded. "I don't trust Ozpin either, but I won't hurt Oscar just because of it! And you won't either!" Nora was about to speak out in support of Jaune, but Ren put his hand on her shoulder, silently telling her not to do so.

"You weren't there," Jaune growled. "You didn't hear Pyrrha scream."

"No, I almost watched her die!" Ruby reminded him. "I nearly watched Cinder kill her, so don't you dare act like you're the only one who cares about her!" Jaune shook his head and decided to head back inside.

"I didn't ask for this!" Oscar told the Arc. "I didn't ask to have Ozpin in my head, so give me a break!" Jaune simply glared at Oscar before walking inside. The farm boy groaned in frustration before leaving the balcony area.

-0-

"Here we are," Glaucus told the group as they arrived at a stop for the Anima Express. Safirlas went ahead of the group and accessed the terminal to check on the time that the Express would arrive.

"Okay, it should be arriving in about twenty minutes," Saf announced. "It's about ten Lien a ticket. We'll pay once we get onboard."

"Hopefully, we'll also get to meet Team COAL," Pyrrha brought up. "We'll need all the help we can get."

"You seem to know them, Saf," Math addressed. "Do you think they can be trusted?"

"Mostly," the spear martial artist answered with an unenthusiastic tone.

"You don't sound very happy to see them," Ruo pointed out. "Why do you dislike them?"

"It's just Luna I dislike," Saf answered. "That girl's a sadist…and I don't like sadists."

"Neither do I," Math agreed. "Is she really that bad?"

"She…" Saf sighed. "She's not evil. But the way she is…she doesn't kill to protect others. She kills because she enjoys it; she enjoys inflicting pain."

"Does she do it to her own teammates?" Pyrrha asked.

"No," Saf replied. "But still…"

"We need all the help we can get," Glaucus interrupted. "Do you believe they'd work with Cinder or no?"

"No," Saf answered.

"Then right now, your dislike for their teammate will have to be put aside," the Gray Wanderer stated. "For now, we need every fighter we can get if Haven is to survive."

"I know," Saf answered.

"What do you know about Team COAL?" Pyrrha asked Safirlas.

"They're a second-year team…well, third now at Haven. They're comprised of Cole Stone, Oren Fields, Aria Azul and Luna Crescentia."

"How do you know them?" Math asked.

"Mostly through Luna. She was a big flirt when we first met. At first, I thought of her as a friend, but when I saw how sadistic she can be in combat…it just disturbed me. I still talked with her teammates sometimes, but I preferred to keep my distance from Luna."

"Just because of how sadistic she can be?" Nasser asked. "Hey, as long as she's not hurting us for entertainment, I'm fine."

"She did that in a way in her early years," Saf replied. "When I first met her, she was a horrendous cook. Almost everyone who ate it, including Professor Lionheart and my team and I…I never thought I'd eat again after I ate what she made." Math covered his chuckles with his mouth, laughing at the small misfortunes.

"That's not funny!" Saf barked at her brother.

"It is funny," Math admitted while continuing to chuckle. "I'm sorry, but it's funny. She used you as an experiment for her cooking. Did it happen multiple times?"

"Only once," Saf answered. "After that, she got better with cooking and now she often cooks for her teammates."

While Robin spoke with Safirlas, mostly teasing her about Luna's terrible cooking, Math saw Pyrrha standing by herself looking off to the north. He walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Jaune, Ren and Nora are there," Pyrrha stated. "It's been months since I've seen them. I…I didn't make things right with Jaune before he left."

"You'll have that chance now," Math told his beloved. "They're sure to have made it there." Math saw Pyrrha's hand move down her torso until it was over the spot where Cinder had shot her the night Beacon fell.

"Cinder…" she spoke softly. "I wasn't able to stop her."

"We failed against Cinder and Nachtfel because we fought alone," Math told her. "These aren't our battles alone; they're everyone's. If we're to stop them, we cannot repeat our mistakes." Pyrrha looked to Math and noted the mature sincerity in his eyes.

Pyrrha going up against Cinder alone was not arrogance, but a desire to keep her friends safe. Despite that, there was still selfishness in what she did; instead od heeding the advice of her teammates and leaving with them, she single-handedly went up against Cinder, which nearly got her killed.

Now, she wanted revenge against Cinder for all the destruction and death she had caused. She wanted her to answer for all this needless death just so she could have the Maiden powers. She needed to see justice done.

But Math was right. Both of them fought powerful enemies alone…and it led to their bodies being maimed. They couldn't stand against those monsters alone, nor did they have to.

Ruby, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Robin, Ruo, Nasser, Safirlas…so many friends stood with them, despite their own losses. They didn't need to stand alone against the evil that was wanting to destroy the world for their own selfish gains.

"You're right," Pyrrha agreed. "We're all in this together." Math smiled and kissed Pyrrha's cheek.

"Math…what if Ozpin is there?"

Math's warm smile dropped at the mention of that name. Ozpin was once someone he held in high regard for knowing of his condition, yet allowing him to enter Beacon due to his accomplished skills as a warrior. He felt he owed Ozpin so much for allowing him this opportunity.

Now, he felt nothing but scorn and hatred for the former Beacon Headmaster. He had lied to his team about the mission north of Vale, which nearly cost them their lives and got Alan Kura killed. He had forced Pyrrha to take the Maiden powers, despite the promise of offering her a choice.

Math honestly wanted to cut his head off for what he did, but from what Glaucus told him, he'd also hurt whoever Ozpin's current host was as well. As much as he wanted to make Ozpin hurt, he wasn't about to go that far.

"I hear the train," Ruo announced as his ears picked up the sounds of the Anima Express.

"One part down," Nasser stated. "Another to go."

-0-

Vernal poured the tea for Yang, Weiss and Raven, sitting at her table in her tent. Despite Raven's attempts at peace, tensions remained high with the two girls: Yang for abandoning her, Weiss for kidnapping her and holding her for ransom.

"Let's not beat around the bush," Yang stated. "You said we needed to know the truth if we wanted to go after Ruby and we will. What is the truth exactly?"

"How much do you know of Ozpin?" Raven asked, answering Yang's question with another.

"He was a prodigy," Weiss explained, though unsure of why Raven would bring up Ozpin. "He was the youngest Headmaster ever to be appointed."

"Because that's how he designed those schools," Raven pointed out.

"That's impossible," Weiss denied. "Ozpin wouldn't have been born when the Academies first started training. How could he have designed them?"

"Because that man has a very big secret," Raven revealed. "Reincarnation." Both of the girls looked at each other in confusion.

"The creatures of Grimm have a master named Salem," the Bandit Chief continued. "She's the one truly responsible for the destruction of Beacon. She's the one Ozpin has been at war with for millennia." Weiss scoffed.

"I've heard a lot of far-fetched stories, but I'm having trouble believing this one," the heiress replied.

"You're free to believe whatever you want," Raven spoke. "I'm simply telling you what I know. Too bad Qrow didn't do the same."

"Qrow said he'd look after Ruby," Yang brought up. "What did he not tell me…or her?"

"Well, for one, your Uncle Qrow and I didn't attend Beacon to become Huntsmen," Raven explained. "We attended to learn how to kill Huntsmen." Yang and Weiss gasped at this revelation as Raven poured some tea.

"Yeah, he didn't say," she guessed. "Apart from the Grimm, Huntsmen were the ones who often ruined our raids. Things got so bad that we needed a counterforce or we'd face starvation."

"Who said you had to be bandits?" Weiss questioned. "There are ways of living without having to hurt others."

"This isn't one of the Kingdoms," Raven replied. "Out here, it's kill or be killed. Now, if I may continue…" Weiss sat back, allowing Yang's mother to continue her story.

"Qrow and I were the perfect age to get in. The entry exams were child's play compared to what we had been through. That's when we met Taiyang and Summer." Raven sipped her tea before looking over to notice that neither Weiss or Yang had taken a drink.

"Over time, I realized we gained Ozpin's attention. I thought he was interested in Qrow and I, but it was Team STRQ as a whole. Sending us off on extra missions, giving us special treatment, turning a blind eye to when we got in trouble, regardless of how bad. Ring a bell?"

It did for Yang and Weiss. The Paladin Incident, which had gotten dozens of people killed partially because of their irresponsibility. Under normal circumstances, they should've been left to deal with the consequences of their actions, but Ozpin was hellbent on getting them out of jail.

"I know about the Paladin Incident," Raven informed. "He didn't get you and your friends out because he had such a forgiving heart. He did it because he wanted you to fight his war. I would know how much he loves to play favorites."

"What are you talking about?" Yang questioned her mother, making her smile a little bit.

"I was in a sparring match with a young man during my second year," Raven revealed. "He was a pervert, always making 'harmless' comments towards Summer and I, even when she was dating Forest."

"Hold on," Yang stopped. "Summer dated Forest, Math's mentor?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "They were sweethearts for a very long time until Ozpin caused their relationship to fail, but I'll explain that later." She stood up from the table and turned to look at the map of Remnant on her wall.

"This young man angered me to no end. Summer always told me not to get violent, but he crossed a line when…he groped me. I challenged him to a fight and won, but the beating I gave him was so bad that he was sent to the ER. Many of the teachers demanded I be expelled for doing what I did, but he refused and allowed me to stay."

"You…sent someone to the ER?" Weiss asked.

"Odds are, you two would've done the same if you met that young man," Raven claimed.

"This war…did Ozpin ask you to fight it?" Yang asked as she stood up.

"Simply 'asked' is an understatement if you ask me," her mother responded. "Now, I realize it was guilt tripping."

"I take Forest was also a part of this, then."

"He was. Like our team, he was roped into this war against Salem. We believed in it with everything we had, but as time went on, we started to doubt Ozpin. Always keeping secrets, telling lies and half-truths, wanting everything to go his way, even if it posed more harm than good. Ozpin's selfishness cost Forest one of his teammates…and Summer her life."

Yang's eyes widened. Was Ozpin truly responsible for the death of Ruby's mother? Was he the reason why Yang never had a mother growing up?

"Why should we believe any of this?" she questioned. "For all we know, you may've just made this up." Raven smiled.

"You're catching on," she stated. "You need to question everything you know. You need to get your answers like I did. Or you'll end up as blind as Qrow…" Yang glared at her mother, her fists tightening in anger.

"Or your fool of a father."

BLAST!

Yang activated Ember Celica and blasted Raven's table apart, scaring Weiss. Her eyes were now red, nearly matching her mother's.

"Don't you dare insult my family like that!" she growled.

"Yang," Weiss addressed as she held her hand.

"You should listen to your teammate," Raven stated. "She hasn't let you down yet."

"You don't know ANYTHING about my teammates, my family or me!" Yang roared. "You abandoned me when I was a baby! You never contacted me! You never spoke to me! You never did anything! You chose these murderers and thieves over your own family!"

"They ARE my family," Raven sternly replied.

"No, they're not," Yang snarled. "Dad told me of what they put you through. They abused you, treated you like garbage. What kind of family doesn't show you love and respect!?"

"I was mistreated because I was weak," her mother responded. "I had to prove myself before I could earn respect."

"And what about your team? Summer? Tai? Qrow? Do they mean nothing to you?"

"They made their choice. They chose to waste their lives fighting a war that cannot be won, against an enemy that cannot be killed. I wasn't being a coward, I was being smart."

"You're not a coward?" Yang challenged. Raven glared at her daughter.

"No, I'm not," she denied. "It's not cowardly to choose not to fight a war you cannot win."

"What is cowardly is that you abandoned everyone who cared about you to save yourself, including me! You left me when I needed you! Why? WHY!?" Yang's eyes finally changed back to their lilac color as her head dropped, looking defeated.

"I spent years looking for you, wanting to know why you left. Why don't you love me?"

Raven's glare changed to sympathy, seeing the damage she had inflicted on her daughter. She slowly reached out her arm to touch her shoulder, but stopped herself and turned around.

"Leave."

"What?" Weiss asked.

"Leave," Raven repeated. "Now." Yang raised her head to look at Raven.

"Raven, we need to-"

"Ruby is a lost cause," Raven repeated. "It's only a matter of time before Ozpin sacrifices her life as he did Summer's."

"Then I need to go," Yang stated. "Open a portal."

"You want to die a needless death like Summer and almost like your friend, Pyrrha?" Raven questioned.

"Pyrrha?" Weiss asked as he stood up as well. "What does she have to do with this?"

"Ozpin forced her into this war," the Bandit informed. "He tried to force her to accept a power that he claimed would be her choice. Ozpin cannot be trusted and he will throw away your life the minute it suits him. He doesn't care about anyone but himself."

"Who are you to criticize!?" Yang snarled. "Who are you to get on ANYONE being selfish or callous to the lives of others? I'm going after Ruby, now open a portal, dammit!" Raven scoffed.

"You are stubborn," she stated.

"I got it from my mother," Yang replied. Raven almost smiled before Yang finished with "Summer."

At that moment, Raven halted any movement and time completely stopped. To hear her daughter straight up denounce her as her mother was a crippling blow to her pride. She'd thought Yang would be proud to be her daughter, despite everything that happened.

However, in Yang's eyes, she was a coward, a hypocrite, and not worthy of being called a mother. She had abandoned her when she was a baby and blamed her for not finding her sooner. She insulted her family by calling Tai and Qrow fools and Ruby a lost cause.

"Raven!" Vernal called out as she hurried into the tent. "They're here."

"They?" Weiss asked before screams of agony were heard and then silenced.

"Salem's forces," Vernal clarified to Raven. "Four of them are demanding to speak with you. If you refuse, they'll slaughter more of our tribe."

"I'll speak with them then," Raven said as she took her helmet and looked to the two girls.

"You two stay in here and don't make any noise if you want to stay alive." She put her helmet on and walked out of the tent, leaving Yang and Weiss by themselves. The two of looked through a small hole in the tent to see four people walking up to Raven, three of which were immediately recognized.

"Mercury and Emerald," Yang whispered. "Holy crap. Is that Cinder?"

"This isn't good," Weiss pointed out.


	8. Steel and Ashes

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 8: Steel and Ashes**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

"Wow, this place is great!" Robin spoke as the group just got on the Anima Express.

"Sure beats walking the rest of the way to Mistral," Math agreed as they sat down on the comfortable seats. "But we shouldn't let our guards down."

"No, we shouldn't," Ruo agreed. "Especially after what happened on the boat. The Wild Hunt could be here anywhere."

"You're safe while my men and I are around," a young male voice assured. They looked over to see a young man, possibly in a year older than Safirlas, with silver hair, cool blue eyes, three metal stud piercings on his left ear, a choker collar and a tattoo of a winged sword in front of a shield surrounded by thorny vines on his left arm. His attires consisted of a gray sleeveless jacket, a black muscle shirt, black fingerless gloves and blue jeans. His weapons included a bolt rifle like the militiamen who arrested the Wild Hunt, but also carried a pistol and wakizashi.

"Who are you?" Math asked.

"Silvio Steel," he answered. Everyone's eyes became focused on the young man who had just approached them.

"Silvio Steel, leader of the militia?" Math asked as he stood back up.

"One and the same," Silvio answered. "I'm guessing my reputation precedes me."

"We were hoping to meet you," Glaucus addressed. "If you're the leader of the militia, we need to speak with you." Silvio's warm and somewhat cocky smile changed to a serious one.

"What is it?" he asked. "Should we go somewhere private?"

"Definitely," Glaucus replied. Silvio led the group of eight to the next car of the train, where he led them to a rather large bedroom with bunk beds.

"What is it?" he questioned.

"Haven is their next target," Math informed him. Silvio raised an eyebrow before Math clarified.

"The Iron Knights and White Fang. They're going after Haven next." Silvio's eyes widened in response.

"This isn't good," he replied. "My militia's all over Mistral and bits of Anima right now. Do you know when they plan to attack?"

"My guess is less than a month from now, prior to students' return," Glaucus answered. "And we have no idea what their own numbers will be." Silvio exhales heavily.

"They'd be fools not to attack now," he claimed. "Mistral is in such disarray. The Council at odds with Atlas, the Wild Hunt hunting and killing Faunus, the Huntsmen stretched thing trying to defend our territories…we're ripe for the picking."

"Which is why we needed to tell you," Pyrrha informed. "We need your militia to help defend Haven."

"I don't know if I can recall them all in time," Silvio explained. "It'll take weeks to bring them all back to Haven Academy. My militia are spread throughout Mistral's territories, trying to hold back any assaults and capture any Wild Hunt members."

"The Wild Hunt…we met one of them on a ship on the way to Mistral," Ruo informed. "Because he murdered two Faunus, he endangered the lives of everyone on board, then he had the gall to act like it wasn't his fault."

"The Wild Hunt are anger-driven and hate-filled fanatics," Silvio replied. "They're using the Fall of Beacon as a rallying call to drive the Faunus out of Mistral before they do the same to the other kingdoms."

"Surely, your militia must be doing something about it," Math asked.

"We're trying everything we can, but without the Huntsmen to help us, maintaining peace is much more difficult than I thought."

"Wait," Saf stopped. "Without the Huntsmen?" Silvio nodded his head.

"Vale wasn't the only kingdom to suffer the night Beacon was destroyed; Mistral was attacked too by the Grimm and Iron Knights. Our losses were bad, very bad. The battles with them cost us nearly a third of our Huntsmen, both veteran and student. Whatever they can't defend due to their shortened numbers, it falls on my militia to do so."

"How could you organize this militia?" Ruo asked. "Pardon me, but you don't look old enough to be a commanding officer in the Mistral military."

"I'm not," Silvio admitted. "But my family's influence and resources helped me make this militia to keep peace and protect our territories. I've been taking whatever volunteers I can get."

"Including me," a familiar male voice addressed. Everyone turned around to see Gaspar Dorado. His golden hair was slicked back and he had grown a thin mustache and beard, showing his growing in age. His new attire included a black leather vest over a yellow dress shirt, black slacks and black boots.

"Gaspar!?" Math gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"After the Fall of Beacon, my father wished for me to continue my training as a Huntsman," the leader of Team GOLD answered. "He initially wanted to send me to Atlas, but with everything going on, he decided Mistral instead. When I got here, my teammates and I joined Silvio's militia to help out how we can."

"You've been helping Silvio?" Ruo asked, seeing a complete contrast from the arrogant young man they once knew back at Beacon.

"We've been keeping an eye out for White Fang, Iron Knights, Wild Hunt, and even Cinder," Gaspar went on. "As of right now, Cinder and her associates are number one on the MSU's most wanted list. We're hoping we can find her."

"So do I," Pyrrha agreed. "The victims of that night deserve justice." Math walked up and shook Gaspar's hand.

"Never thought I'd say this, but it's good to see you again," the swordsman greeted.

"You as well," Gaspar reciprocated.

"So, we were told another team is on the train," Jinse brought up. "Team COAL, correct?"

"Yes, they're here," Silvio confirmed. "They're in the back cars, doing what they can to keep people from projecting negativity and keeping an eye out for any Wild Hunt members. After what happened on the boat, we're being very cautious, so I have militia in every car."

"So, what can we do?" Math asked. "We just got here, but we're willing to help however we can."

"Well, for one, don't leave your Faunus companions alone," the militia leader suggested. "If the Wild Hunt are on this train, they will attempt to kill them."

"We'll keep that in mind," Glaucus responded.

"If you want to help after taking time to rest, just check in with everyone and make sure negativity is low. As long as we do that, Grimm won't come our way."

"Okay," Math responded. "I definitely need to rest my feet."

"That makes two of us," Saf agreed. The groups went off to different bunkrooms: Team MRRN occupied one while Glaucus, Jinse, Safirlas, and Pyrrha occupied the other.

Safirlas went over to the window and watched as the Anima wildlands rushed past them. She then looked at her own reflection; her curly brown hair, blue eyes, and new attire of a blue Mistrali vest, shoulder pads, black pants and boots.

It had struck her now: she was going back to Mistral without any of her teammates. She didn't know how their families would react if they didn't know or had reacted if they did. She was afraid of seeing their families again; she honestly hoped that they already knew so she wouldn't have to explain what happened to them and why empty caskets were buried instead of filled ones.

"Saf?" Pyrrha asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm thinking about my teammates' families," Saf answered. "I don't want to explain to them how their children were killed during the Fall of Beacon. I…I just can't. It took me too long to get over their deaths."

"My mother told me that the families of the deceased have already been informed," Pyrrha told her. Saf sighed.

"I never got to apologize to you and Math for acting the way I did," she brought up. "I…I can be such a bitch sometimes."

"Don't degrade yourself like that," Pyrrha told her beloved's sister. "You were dealing with tremendous loss. They were your teammates. While I don't condone how you treated us, I understand how you felt." Pyrrha then pulled a reluctant Saf into a hug, which she didn't return.

"I'm not really comfortable with hugs," the spear martial artist told the Amazon.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha apologized as she retracted her arms. "You're not alone. If you ever need to talk to someone, my door's always open." Saf nodded her head in response.

Jinse left the room and made her way over to Team MRRN's. Just before she knocked, she saw two people looking at her sourly. She subtly examined them for weapons, but saw nothing. However, she was not going to let her guard down. She knocked on the door and was greeted by Ruo.

"Jinse," he addressed. "How are you?"

"I just wanted to talk to you," she replied. "It's been almost two years since we've spoken."

"Yeah, it has," Ruo agreed as he let Jinse enter the room. Robin and Nasser were playing video games on their scrolls, possibly against each other considering their insults thrown at one another. Math looked like he was asleep, drowning out the noise from his two teammates.

"So…how much do they know?" Jinse asked her student.

"Everything," Ruo answered. "Including Grant Denim." Jinse nodded her head to acknowledge her student.

"When I met him, he told me something that…I don't know." He and Jinse sat down on the bed across from Math and Nasser and below Robin.

"What is it?" she asked.

"He said that killing my father was an accident," Ruo explained. "He needed my father's help in saving his daughter…but he refused. He broke into our home because he was desperate and only brought the gun to scare us."

"And you believe him?" Jinse asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I heard his daughter's voice," the White Tiger admitted. "I don't…I don't want to believe that my father refused to help someone. Why would he refuse? It doesn't make any sense."

"Hopefully, we can find out when we get to Mistral," Jinse comforted. "Hopefully, you can find the answers."

"Battle Stations!" Silvio shouted. "Battle Stations! Iron Knights!"

"Iron Knights!?" Math gasped, awoken from sleep. They all grabbed their weapons and looked out the window of the train to see ships flying onto them, each one carrying about two dozen Iron Knights.

"Hurry!" Gaspar told the group as he hastily opened their door.

"We're heading to the roof," Math told the militia leader. "Gaspar, the Iron Knights may have Aura Breaking ammunition. Tell all the Huntsmen and Huntresses on board to be careful."

"I will," Gaspar assured before using his Gold Rush Semblance to hurry away.

"Guys, let's go!" Math told them as they prepared for battle as they hurried onto the roof of their train car. The Iron Knights already started to deploy their troops onto the cars and aimed their weapons at the group of eight.

"What's the plan, Math?" Nasser asked as he twirled Hafashahn.

"Protect the passengers and kill those Iron Knight bastards," the swordsman answered as he unsheathed Dochas-Mhadaidh.

-0-

Raven stood outside of her tent, looking down at the four people who had been sent by Salem. One of them she immediately recognized as Valkoin Viisaus, a former member of Ozpin's faction.

"Long time, no see, Raven," Valkoin greeted. "I thought Grimm masks were done by the White Fang."

"I don't recall inviting you four into my camp," Raven replied as she stepped down the steps. "None of you are welcome here."

"Do you even know who we are?" Mercury asked. "We're the guys you should be afraid of." Raven scoffed.

"No one would be scared of a scrawny kid like you," the bandit chief insulted.

"Nice one, Raven," Yang complimented as she and Weiss continued watching from her tent. Mercury was about to speak back, but Cinder stopped him.

"My name is Cinder Fall," she greeted. "These are my disciples, Mercury and Emerald, and my associate-"

"Valkoin Viisaus," Raven interrupted. "Other than that, you're two kids who were roped into this and a woman with a name so fitting, you probably came up with it yourself. Something tells me you have a real bad case of egomania. Is that about right?"

"Well, you have her snarky remarks," Weiss told her teammate.

"You're certainly observant," Cinder replied, her speech slowed a bit and became raspy.

"It's how I stayed alive all these years," Raven responded.

"There are only two reasons why you're still alive," Valkoin stated. "First, it's because clearly your tribe as adopted your ideals of cowardice and hypocrisy, only attacking settlements who can't fight back." Raven snarled in response, hating when her flaws were called out.

"Second, the only reason Cinder hasn't razed this place to the ground is because you have something we want."

"But if we're wrong…" Cinder summoned a fireball in her hand, smiling sadistically at the Branwen leader.

"Vernal!" Raven called out. Vernal stepped out from the side of the tent and walked up to stand beside Raven.

"What's important about Vernal?" Yang wondered.

"So this is the lost Spring Maiden," Cinder assumed. "Prove it." Raven and Vernal looked at each other, the leader nodding her head. The brunette bandit held out her hands and the wind started to pick up, surprising Yang and Weiss.

"How is she doing that?" Weiss asked.

"That's impossible," Yang responded. "The Maidens can't exist."

"Wait…you know of them?" the ex-heiress asked the blonde brawler.

"I'm guessing…from a fairytale I heard when I was young," Yang explained. "The Four Seasons." The wind stopped as Raven noticed the power-lusting look on Cinder's face as she gazed at Vernal.

"Proven," Raven stated. "Now, what do you want?"

"Cooperation," Cinder answered. "The Spring Maiden is the key to the Relic of Knowledge as you know. Salem wants the Relic…and you…" She started to cough, but luckily, to the point that blood was being spat out.

"Man, Ruby did a number on you, huh?" Raven taunted, much to the Fall Maiden's ire.

"I figured you'd know by now," Valkoin replied. "But we're not here to discuss Ms. Rose. We're here to discuss the Relic." He then walked up to Raven, who took one step back from him.

"Come with us, allow Vernal to unlock the Relic of Knowledge and Salem will forgive any grudges she has against you."

"Even if I agreed to help, how would you get into Haven Academy?" Raven questioned.

"Mistral is a terrible state," Valkoin answered. "The Huntsmen, or those not yet killed by the Iron Knights, are stretched thin across Mistral's territories. The Wild Hunt massacre Faunus in revenge for the Fall of Beacon. The best part, the leader of the militia trying to keep peace, Silvio Steel, is being attacked by the Iron Knights as we speak. If they succeed in killing him, the militia will be left leaderless. This is the perfect time to enter Haven Academy."

"Are you joking?" Raven scoffed. "I don't know everything going on in Mistral, but I know you, Cinder, and your 'disciples' are on Mistral's Most Wanted List. You won't be able to just walk in and take the Relic."

"Actually, we can," Cinder corrected. "Let's just say we have a friend on the inside." Raven almost put her hand on her sword, but just before she could, it was pulled away by Valkoin's wires.

"Don't try anything stupid," he warned before planting the blade in the ground next to him.

"I'm not helping Salem," Raven refused. "I'm not helping Ozpin. I don't want any part of this."

"Well, maybe you should've considered that before deciding to harbor a Maiden," Valkoin responded. "For someone who claims to be so intelligent, that was a very stupid move. But then again, you're known to be pretentious, correct?"

"Don't you dare," Raven shot back.

"Don't dare what?" Valkoin taunted. "Call you out on your shortcomings? Turn a blind eye to your selfishness and hypocrisy? You claim to be strong, but in reality, you're just a coward who preys on those who can't fight back." Raven's fist tightened in anger.

"Get out of my camp," she demanded. "Now."

"We're not leaving without the Maiden," Cinder responded. "Either you willingly help us or we take Vernal by force. I brought down a Maiden before; don't think I can't again."

"I need time to think this over, then," Raven replied, knowing that she was in a corner that she couldn't get out of.

"You're deciding now," Valkoin firmly stated. "At the end of the month, Haven Academy will be destroyed by the White Fang and Iron Knights."

Raven hated this. She was backed into a corner where she couldn't escape. She was forced to choose between two evils: help Salem gain one of the Relics or let her tribe be slaughtered by Cinder. She had no wiggle room or anything to bargain with. She thought of whatever she could to give her a slight advantage against them; after some thinking, she believed she found a solution. She took off her mask, revealing her face to Cinder, Mercury and Emerald.

"Deals like these are built on trust," Raven replied. "Frankly, I don't trust any of you. You're going to give me more."

"I'd suggest you choose your next words very carefully," Valkoin warned. "You are in no position to make demands."

"She can't be serious about helping them," Yang whispered, outraged by her mother's possible consideration. She was tempted to rush out there and punch Cinder , and possible Raven in the face, but for now, she had to remain silent or Salem's force would discover them.

"I want my brother dead," Raven told them. Yang's eyes turned red at what Raven just said, nearly activating Ember Celica, but Weiss calmed her down.

"Qrow?" Cinder asked.

"Yes," Raven responded. "He knows I have Spring. If I help you get your Relic, he will be a problem…and I have enough problems to deal with."

"Why would we agree to this?" Valkoin asked. "Qrow is someone we definitely want dead, but he won't give up without a fight…and he never fights quietly. If we kill him in Mistral, it could warn them to our attack and we'd risk the possibility of it being ruined."

"You said you have a man on the inside," Raven reminded. "Convince Qrow to come somewhere and we take him down. Him alone against all of us, it'll be over in the blink of an eye."

"He's not alone," Emerald brought up. "Qrow is still with the students, including Ruby."

"I don't care about them," Raven coldly responded. "Those brats made their choice and stood with that drunk." Yang's fist clenched even worse, the urge to attack Raven becoming nearly unbearable.

"That selfish, patronizing bitch," she snarled.

"I certainly have no problem with them being killed," Valkoin responded. "However, our instructions concerning Ms. Rose is to bring her back alive. No excuses."

"Why would Salem want Ruby alive?" Raven asked, confused.

"That's not for you to know," Cinder dismissed. "But your proposal is something I can get behind."

"Well, I don't," Valkoin responded. "My brother, Glaucus, is on his way to Haven along with some other students. If we kill Qrow and the students, it'll draw their attention as well. Unlike Beacon, they know of our attack and they'll be more prepared for it. We must maintain the element of surprise if we're to succeed."

"Either you help me kill Qrow or I don't help you," Raven demanded. To her shock, Valkoin aggressively grabbed her face and dug the tips of his gloves into her skin.

"As I said before, Raven, you are in no position to make demands," he warned. "All we need to do is start some violence and the Grimm will swarm this place. Decide now." He then let her go and backed away.

"Have you two heard enough?" the Fall Maiden asked.

"We heard everything," Vernal replied.

"I wasn't talking to you," Cinder dismissed as her attention turned to the tent, alerting Yang and Weiss. The Fall Maiden threw a large fireball at the tent, prompting Yang and Weiss to jump out.

"You two!" Mercury called out.

"Time to burn this place down!" Cinder grinned as she threw a wave of flame at some of the bandits, burning them and several of the tents.

"Get out of here!" Raven commanded her tribe. "The Grimm will come!" The leader then used the opportunity to knock Valkoin aside and retrieve her blade.

In a matter of moments, the entire camp was catching fire as the flames roared and spread everywhere. Yang was about to charge and attack Mercury, but before she reached him, a Death Stalker Grimm crashed through the wooden wall and pierced its stinger into one of the bandits, pinning him to the ground as he was injected with poison.

"Yang!" Raven called out to her daughter. "Get your motorcycle!"

"Why should I listen to you?" she questioned. "I heard everything!"

"Get your motorcycle, dammit!" she repeated. Yang glared at Raven for a few moments before shaking her head and getting Bumblebee, gesturing to Weiss to get on. As they approached Raven, she opened a portal with her sword.

"It'll take you to Qrow," Raven informed. "Now go before Cinder kills you."

"Why would you care about what happens to me?" Yang challenged. "You wanted to sell out your own brother."

"Yang, we need to leave," Weiss stated.

"Dad and Qrow were right about you," Yang told Raven. "You're not the woman I thought I'd find." She then pressed the gas on Bumblebee and drove through the portal before it vanished.

"I know," Raven silently acknowledged.

"Raven!" Vernal called out. "We need to get out of here!"

"We'll head into the forest," the bandit leader told the Maiden. "They don't this place like we do. We can lose them if we hurry and reunite with our tribe at another camp." The two of them rushed off out of the burning camp and into the forest.

"How did you know they were there?" Mercury asked Cinder. The Fall Maiden grinned as she looked at her left arm, completely covered by the long red sleeve.

"I…had a hunch," she replied.

"Qrow will come looking for her should he learn of this," Valkoin stated. "We must find Raven and Vernal before he does."

"And we will," Cinder assured.

"We must inform Salem of what happened here," Valkoin brought up. "With her helping us, there's a greater chance of us finding them before anyone else does."

"Very well," Cinder replied. "Mercury, Emerald, come with me. There is prey to be hunted." Cinder used her Maiden powers to make a clear path for them out of the burning camp and follow the Branwen.

"What about those other two?" Mercury asked.

"Forget about them," Cinder demanded with a devilish smile. "Raven is our priority."

**Author's Notes: Silvio Steel is a character created by Darth Stigma. All credit for the character goes to him. **


	9. Blood Upon Steel

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 9: Blood Upon Steel**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

The first Iron Knights made their way on top of the train, their guns aimed at the group of Huntsmen who were prepared to greet them in combat, soon joined by Gaspar Dorado and Silvio Steel.

"My troops will keep the passengers safe," Silvio informed everyone as he prepared his rifle. "If any Iron Knights get into the cars, they'll take care of them. They're being informed by the Aura Breaking ammunition the Knights have."

"Good," Glaucus replied. "This fighting will also attract Grimm. It may be a while-"

"Then why are they here now?" Nasser interrupted as several large Bat-like Grimm descended onto the train, squealing angrily as they flew around.

"Either the Iron Knights led them here," Jinse deduced. "Or there's enough negativity on this train to attract them. They shouldn't have gotten already."

"There may be Wild Hunt on this train," Silvio suggested.

"If there are, they may use the battle as an opportunity to kill any Faunus onboard," Glaucus replied. "Gaspar, Ruo, get back in the cars, kill any Iron Knights you see and detain any Wild Hunt you encounter." They nodded their heads and went back inside the train cars as instructed.

"There he is!" one of the Iron Knights shouted, pointing at Silvio Steel. "There's their leader! Terminate him!"

"Silvio, you better head back inside," Math suggested. "If you die, the militia will be leaderless."

"I can handle myself," Silvio insisted. "Besides-"

"Look out!" Math shouted as he held Torrach in front of the militia leader to block bullets fired at him. One of the Knights then shot a cable at Math, who hacked it away with Dochas-Mhadaidh.

"Haven't seen those cables in a long time," Math commented.

"They wouldn't need them with Aura Breaking ammo," Pyrrha pointed out.

Silvio held up his rifle and returned fire, shooting down two Iron Knights. Glaucus activated the Fire Dust in his staff and swung it, unleashing a wave of flame at the attackers, setting several of them on fire and fall off the train.

Nasser raised his square shield and launched himself forward at one of the Knights, sending them flying into another. He then blasted one of them in the face before killing another with a cleave of Hafashahn. One Iron Knight swung a blade at him, which he blocked and used Lildifae's center mechanism to push the blade away before killing him with an axe cleave.

Math threw Torrach at one Knight, knocking him off the train before retrieving his shield and breaking the arm of another before impaling him with his blade. He blocked the axe of another Knight who was accompanied by one more; Math dodged the third strike and slashed both of them. One more was about to shoot a cable at him, but was killed by a shotgun blast.

"Huh?" he wondered. He looked back to see a young man with dark shaggy brown hair, amber eyes, and lynx ears that stood at about a height of 5'9. His attire consisted of a red jacket with detachable sleeves, khaki brown pants with four zippers pockets, and a chain with what appeared to be his emblem: a shield with four gemstones and a lightning bolt in the center. His weapon was a crest shield with two shotgun barrels emerging from the top and a dust mechanism above the handle.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Math responded. "Mathdon Kendrick of Team MRRN."

"Oren Fields of Team COAL." When Oren saw Math's weapons, his eyes widened in horror and appeared to start hyperventilating. Before the swordsman could ask what was wrong, he saw a Knight aim at the Lynx Faunus, prompting him to push Oren aside and throw Torrach at the Knight.

"What was that?" he asked. "You just froze! In the middle of a battle!"

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm…not fond of bladed weapons. But I can fight."

Jinse kicked an Iron Knight away with a twirling kick before pouncing onto another, grabbing his head and snapping his neck. Another fired at her, but she dodged the bullets with her feline-like speed before punching him in the gut and leaping onto the Knight to bring him down.

"Man, she's good," Robin commented. "No wonder Ruo learned martial arts so well."

"Fight now, compliment later," Jinse told him, having heard it clearly.

Safirlas leapt over one of the Knights, killing her with a throwing knife. She then twirled Himmelkanten around to knock away a Grimm before impaling its head with the spear. Several Knights opened fire at her, but her Semblance gave her an edge as it allowed her to predict their attacks.

She spun her spear in front of her, deflecting all bullets fired at her. After deflecting the last one, she charged forward and kicked a Knight off the train and then twirled her spear on her back, taking out two more Knights.

Suddenly, she was pinned to the ground by one of the Grimm. She used her spear to keep the Bat Grimm's fangs at bay as it continuously bit at her, biting down on Himmelkanten as it did and barking ferociously.

Just then, it stopped as a piercing sound was heard. Saf looked down to see the tip of what looked like a scythe blade piercing its body. Another one appeared in a different direction before the creature was brutally torn apart. The reason for it was the Huntress holding two kamas in her hand, smiling cockily.

The young lady had wolf ears, silver hair with black tips and red eyes. Her attire was made of a tan short coat, a black tank top, and dark blue jeans with a green stripe down each leg. Saf groaned as she recognized her as Luna Crescentia.

"Good to see you too," Luna greeted, ignoring the spear user's obvious annoyance of seeing her. She extended her hand to help Safirlas up onto her feet. They turned to see more hordes of Grimm descending from above, shrieking loudly as they were drawn to the negativity.

"The Grimm shouldn't have gotten here this soon," Saf pointed out.

"The Wild Hunt must be on the train," Luna deduced. "If they are, then that's why the Grimm are here so quickly."

"Glaucus has already sent two people to find them," the spear wielder informed the Wolf Faunus.

"Then that leaves us to deal with the Grimm," Luna smiled sadistically before charging forward.

-0-

"Everyone, get to the front cars!" Gaspar told the passengers. "Hurry!" Everyone quickly made their way to the front cars of the train, safe from the battle with the Grimm and Iron Knights. The militia stayed in the rear, their weapons ready in case any Iron Knights managed to get into the cars during the battle on the roofs.

"I'll head back, see if anyone's missing," Ruo informed as he hurried past the crowd and investigated the train cars that had been evacuated. He kept his ears open for any noise that could be picked up.

"Help!" a child's voice was heard before being muffled. Ruo hurried in the direction of the noise, leading a bedroom where four grown men were holding a Faunus, probably around ten years old, at gunpoint.

"Let him go!" Ruo demanded, immediately gaining their attention.

"Oh, look," one of the men taunted. "Another animal to join the slaughter." Ruo's eyes narrowed as he activated Huzhao's Ice Dust.

"Let him go now," the White Tiger threatened. "Let him go or I will kill you." The men simply laughed.

"You against all four of us?" one of them insulted. "First, we'll kill you, then we'll kill this little shit. GYAAH!"

The first Wild Hunt member shrieked in pain as he covered the left side of his face, blood seeping from where his eye used to be. Before the rest of them could react, Ruo punched one straight in the jaw, the next by brutally kicking his knee out of place and pushing the final one onto the ground, holding his arm in a position to break it.

"You monsters!" Ruo snarled. "Wanting to kill an innocent child for something he had nothing to do with!"

"They're all guilty!" the Wild Hunt member shouted in a self-righteous manner. "We deserve justice for the Fall of Beacon!"

"This isn't justice, this is genocide!" Ruo responded.

"You animals deserve to be slaughtered!" the Wild Hunt member growled. "He was right about you. The White Fang was founded because you Faunus didn't know your place!"

"The White Fang may be monsters, but they were founded because they were tired of being mistreated by you!"

"No, the White Fang was founded because we foolishly gave you your freedom! You deserve to be locked in cages and slaughtered for sport!" Ruo finally had enough and broke the man's arm, causing him to scream in pain. The Faunus then picked up the traumatized child, barricaded the door from the outside, and brought the child back to the front cars.

"What happened?" Gaspar asked, noticing some blood on Ruo's clothes.

"Wild Hunt," he answered. "They tried to kill this child."

"Bastards," the Dorado heir snarled. "I can't believe I used to support racism against Faunus."

"Someone got your head on straight," Ruo reminded. "There may be more on this train with Faunus they've managed to pull away from the crowd."

"Let's go, then," Gaspar insisted as he unsheathed Conquistador. "Militia, keep this line clear for any passengers! We're going to make sure no one's left behind!" The three militia men presented nodded their heads as they prepped their weapons as Ruo and Gaspar went back to check for anyone left behind.

-0-

Oren blocked an Iron Knight's axe before punching them in the face and then shooting them with his shotgun barrels. Another one launched a cable at him, which he flipped over and bashed the Knight in his face.

Math followed up behind him, throwing Torrach at another Knight and using his sword to hit it against another before using his gauntlet to retrieve it back. Before they could charge against more Knights, a Bat Grimm crashed onto the roof, caused by Luna Crescentia, who smiled as she slowly cut open the Grimm's back.

"What the-?!" Math gasped.

"That's my teammate, Luna," Oren informed.

Math's eyes focused on the Wolf Faunus as she finished sadistically killing the Grimm. This was the same person who his sister had warned about due to her sadism.

"Hey, Oren," she greeted rather cheerfull. "How's it going?"

"Going okay," the Lynx Faunus answered. "Where's Cole and Aria?" Another Bat Grimm descended onto them, but was impaled by a spear, Ekdikeo, then Pyrrha leapt forward, retrieved her weapon and took on several Iron Knights.

"Pyrrha Nikos?" Luna pointed out as the redhead effortlessly fought the Iron Knights. "Most of us were starting to think she was dead."

"No…she's not," Math responded.

BOOM!

The explosion came from the back of the train, which was left almost entirely unguarded. Two dropships lowered to the open car and the Knights started to make their way on board.

"Crap!" Silvio swore. "I need to get back and warn the others!"

"Go!" Robin insisted. "We've got this covered!" Silvio put his rifle on his back and hurried back inside.

Unknown to them, a familiar foe was on one of the dropships. He smiled as Silvio took the bait, going back into the train where he could be cornered and killed. He disintegrated into ashes and flew through a window to reappear in his normal form.

"Oh no," Glaucus gasped as he noticed the ashes. "He must be going after Silvio!"

"Glaucus?" Math asked.

"Nachtfel's on board," the Gray Wanderer informed.

"What?" the swordsman gasped.

"He's going after Silvio. If he dies, the militia will be leaderless."

"Then we must stop him."

"You're not ready to face him again," Glaucus refused. "Stay up and keep the Knights' attention on you. I'll deal with Nachtfel." The Gray Wanderer then hurried back into the cars to find Silvio before Nachtfel did.

-0-

Ruo and Gaspar quickly made their way down the train, looking for anyone else who may have been captured by the Wild Hunt. Just then, a gunshot went off in one of the rooms, alerting them. Ruo threw open the door to see a Faunus mother dead, her baby on the bed who was now crying. One of the Wild Hunt aimed his gun at the infant, but was hit away by a rapier blade.

"Killing a defenseless infant?" Gaspar snarled. "Even I wouldn't have gone that far."

"It's what they deserve," the Wild Hunt replied. "They hurt us, so we're hurting them back."

"They only hurt us because we treated them like slaves for centuries," Gaspar responded. "I don't condone what the White Fang has done, but I would know how badly we hurt them because I used to be that way."

"You should've stayed that way," another member insisted. "Just like Darren Moss said, entrusting the Faunus with their freedom was humanity's greatest mistake."

"I've heard enough of your self-righteousness," Ruo snarled before grabbing the man by his neck and throwing him against the other Wild Hunt member. The third was about to attack, but Ruo slashed his arm and then slammed him into the wall.

"Whoa," Gaspar gasped at Ruo's ferocity.

"If I have to hear one more of these fanatics' self-righteous boasts, I'll slaughter them," Ruo growled. "Who is Darren Moss?"

"The leader of the Wild Hunt," Gaspar answered. "Ruo, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," the White Tiger responded. "I'm tired of watching my people be subjected to this cruelty."

BOOM!

"What was that!?" Gaspar gasped.

"Gaspar, get the baby to safety," Ruo instructed him. "I'll go see what's going on!" The Dorado heir nodded his head, picked up the baby and rushed out of the room while Ruo went in the other direction.

"Was that the Iron Knights?" Ruo wondered as he hurried down the corridors of the train before running into Silvio Steel.

"What was that?" the Faunus asked.

"The Iron Knights," the militia leader answered. "They've blown up the car in the back. They're deploying troops into the train as we speak."

"Oh no," Ruo replied. "Behind you!" The Iron Knights opened fire at the two of them, so Ruo pulled Silvio behind cover as the bullets suddenly stopped.

"They're not foolish enough to waste ammo," Silvio commented as he reloaded his rifle and shot back at the Knights, killing one of them. The Iron Knights took cover where they could as they slowly approached Silvio Steel and Ruo-Jian Bai Hu.

Ruo activated the Ice Dust in Huzhao and threw two ice spikes at a Knight, impaling his torso. Just then, militia arrived from the other end of the car.

"Protect the commander!" one of them instructed as they opened fire on the Iron Knights, allowing Silvio and Ruo to fall back to safety. As they hurried, Ruo noticed something that startled him: ashes in the vent, right above where Silvio was.

"Look out!" he called as he pushed Silvio just as Nachtfel took his human form and slashed at him. The black devil leader of the Iron Knights stood before them, his blood-coated nodachi in his hand.

"Nachtfel," Ruo spoke. "Why are you attacking these people?"

"The passengers aren't my target," the demon leader responded, pointing his blade at Silvio Steel. "He is."

"Why?" Silvio questioned, aiming his rifle. "We've done nothing to you. We want to protect people."

"The same people who stand by and allow the Huntsmen to commit atrocities?" Nachtfel questioned. "You stand in the way of our rightful wrath upon our enemies. Disband your militia...or die."

"Never," Silvio refused, then shot at Nachtfel, who easily deflected the bullet with his sword.

"The commander's in danger!" a militiaman called out as he and four more militia appeared from behind Nachtfel. "Open fire!"

"Don't!" Ruo shouted. "He's too much for you!" The night devil turned into ashes and then reappeared behind the militia before swiftly killing all of them. Ruo went in for a surprise attack, but Nachtfel grabbed him by his throat and slammed him against the wall. This left him open to bullets hitting, fired from Silvio's rifle. Nachtfel changed into ashes before appearing before Silvio…and impaling his stomach with his sword.

"Time for you to die," the devil spoke. Nachtfel pulled his blade and prepared to finish him, but a blast sent him flying into the wall of the car. The blast came from Glaucus, his staff pointed at the Iron Knight leader.

Nachtfel thought about facing him, but reconsidered as he looked at Silvio Steel on the floor, dying from blood loss. His objective was Silvio Steel's death and he would soon bleed to death. However, he thought Mathdon would be dead…and yet he was still here.

"I'm not making that mistake again," Nachtfel snarled as he pointed his nodachi at the Gray Wanderer and the two fought.

-0-

Robin slid under an Iron Knight, using Sharp Shot's bladed edges to slash their legs before rising up and kicking them off the train. He then nocked three arrows to take out three Bat Grimm who were descending upon him.

"Heads up!" a male voice spoke as someone leapt in front before Robin could shoot. The young man swung his pair of scimitars and unleashed a wave of lightning at the three Grimm, knocking them out of the sky.

The young Huntsman had tanned skin, jet black hair with a white streak and blue eyes. His attire was a black sleeveless vest that showed his well-toned arms, black fingerless gloves with metal plates on the back and jeans going down to his ankles.

"I had it," Robin replied. "Who are you?"

"Cole Stone," the young man answered. "And you?"

"Robin Kendrick."

"Nice visor."

Nasser hit an Iron Knight with Lildifae and then triggered its sides to burst out, hitting the enemy's stomach. He then cleaved the enemy's chest before throwing it aside and shooting another Knight.

"There's no end to these Iron Knights assholes," the axe user as he used his Semblance to launch himself and send another flying off the train. Before he could attack again, the Knight before him was brought down by what appeared to be a bladed chain.

The Knight's neck was then bloodied by the weapon; the source of the chained weapon belonged to a young woman who swung it around to take down two more Iron Knights.

This young woman had dark blue hair in a pixie cut, blue eyes and appeared of average height. Her clothes were a choker with a blue rose on the side, a grey full jacket, a green undershirt with elbow length sleeves, and tan shorts.

"Don't just stand there," she told Nasser. "Fight or you'll get killed!"

Jinse rushed up to Safirlas, seeing that she was getting overwhelmed. She leapt over the spear user, kicking an Iron Knight in the torso and then punching one in the neck, then throwing him against two more Knights. She then kicked another one onto the ground, followed by roundhouse kicking one behind her.

Safirlas threw her last two knives at two Iron Knights before a Bat Grimm landed in front of them. Jinse, in a quick burst of speed, leapt up and gripped the Grimm's head, allowing Saf to drive her spear through its throat, causing it to dissolve into ashes.

"No wonder Ruo learned martial arts so well," Saf complimented.

-0-

Glaucus and Nachtfel traded blows with one another, using their blades to attack and their staff and scabbard for defense. The Gray Wanderer deflected one of Nachtfel's attacks and then unleashed a blizzard from his Ice Dust on the devil swordsman.

Nachtfel turned to ashes, reappeared above Glaucus and slashed at him, which he blocked with his staff and sliced Nachtfel's stomach, damaging his Aura.

When the devil swordsman took a moment to catch his breath, he realized that Ruo-Jian and Silvio were gone. His deduction was that Ruo recovered and took the militia leader to safety.

"Do you honestly believe in what you're doing?" Glaucus questioned. "Helping Salem with her own goals?"

"If it means the destruction of the Huntsmen, then yes," Nachtfel answered. "You monsters-"

"Monsters?" Glaucus barked. "It was not the Huntsmen who destroyed Beacon Academy. It was not the Huntsmen who endangered the Kingdoms that night. If anyone is a monster, it's you!"

"Only because you haven't seen what I've seem! You didn't see them beat your father to death! You didn't see them harass your mother! You didn't see them burn down your entire village just because we stood up for ourselves! You Huntsmen are not guardians, you're mercenaries who sell yourselves to the highest bidder! I've seen your corruption and I will never stop until I destroy all of you once and for all!"

"And you think slaughtering millions will destroy corruption?" Glaucus questioned. "You are as narrow-minded as you are monstrous. You cannot see what your actions have done to millions of innocent people."

"They are NOT innocent!" Nachtfel roared.

"_Brother," _an Iron Knight addressed over his earpiece. _"The Grimm are overrunning us! Please, we must fall back or we'll all die!" _

Nachtfel growled. He wanted to press the attack and kill all the Huntsmen and militia on board, but with the number of Grimm growing in the battle, it'd only be a matter of time before they were all slaughtered.

"Pull back," Nachtfel ordered. "Tell our troops to fall back."

"_Yes, sir!" _the Iron Knight complied. Nachtfel pointed his blade at Glaucus, the red eyes in his helmet glaring at him.

"Know this," he growled. "Haven will fall and we will have our vengeance." He then turned into ashes once more and flew out a window.

-0-

Everyone noticed the Iron Knights retreating from the train, making their way to the dropships. As one of them flew off, Math traded glances with Nachtfel.

No words were needed to express the hate between the two of them. They had both been hurt grievously by the factions they hated. They both viewed their opponents as hypocrites and murderers. They both wanted justice for what they had lost at the hands of their enemies.

"The Iron Knights are pulling back!" Robin pointed out. "Now we just need to take care of the Grimm!"

"Sounds like fun!" Luna smiled before digging one of her kamas into a Bat's head and twisting it painfully. Just before she killed it, she then ripped its wing off with her other kama and broke its neck.

"Man, you're right, Saf," Math commented. "She is a sadist."

"Did you think I was exaggerating?" she asked her brother.

It wasn't too long before the rest of the Grimm were dealt with, allowing the warriors to catch their breath from the intense battle. They climbed back into the cars, where they were greeted by militia taking care of the Iron Knight bodies and rounding up the Wild Hunt.

"Wild Hunt again?" Luna asked.

"Unfortunately," one of them answered. "A mother is dead."

"Hold it," she demanded before standing in front of them. "Who killed her?"

"He did," the militiaman answered as he gestured to the fifth prisoner. Before anyone asked, a white wolf, possibly made from Aura, bit deeply into the man's leg before tearing away bits of flesh as the man screamed in agony, much to Luna's delight. When she was done, the wolf disappeared into thin air.

"That way I'll know who deserves the worst death," she stated. "Take them away." The militia walked past her, taking the Wild Hunt to the back of the train to be detained.

"Thanks for your help," Cole told the group. "It's good to know we had extra hands on board."

"So who are you?" the blue haired girl asked. "You don't look like you're from around here, other than Safirlas."

"I'm Mathdon, Saf's brother," Math answered. "These are my teammates, Robin and Nasser."

"We're Team COAL," Cole introduced. "I'm Cole Stone. These are my teammates: Oren Fields, Aria Azul and Luna Crescentia."

"Nice to see you again, Saf," Luna greeted with a smile. "Hungry?"

"No!" she hastily responded, making the Wolf Faunus laugh.

"I meant actual food, not that crap I used to make," she clarified. "I'm not going to poison any of you."

"She won't," Oren assured. "Who's your fourth teammate?"

"Ruo-Jian Bai Hu," Math answered. "He came down here with Silvio when Glaucus suspected Wild Hunt were on board due to how soon the Grimm arrived. Looks like he was right."

"Those monsters," Oren growled. "Killing a mother in cold blood…that's horrendous."

"And the other four wanted to kill a child," Ruo spoke as he approached the group. "Are any of you injured?"

"No," Jinse answered. "What about Glaucus and Silvio? How are they?" Ruo fell silent.

"Ruo?" Robin asked.

"Silvio was injured by Nachtfel," Ruo explained.

"What!?" Luna barked, walking right up to him. "Where is he?"

"He's been taken to the medical car," the White Tiger answered. "But he lost a lot of blood."

"No, no," Luna responded, rushing to the medical car.

"She seems the most worriedv about Silvio," Robin pointed out as they walked.

"Because she and Silvio are dating," Aria answered. "Now let's go check on him, make sure he's okay."

**Author's Notes: Team COAL was created by Darth Stigma. All credit for the characters go to him. **


	10. Reunited

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 10: Reunited**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Qrow leaned on a balcony, frustrated and angry at his complete lack of progress. His flask was on the ground, having been thrown in a state of anger.

"All of them…" he groaned. "How can they all be gone?"

He had been everywhere around Mistral, including the shadier parts he'd rather stay away from. His list of Huntsmen was included over fifty names, names that belonged to those who could be relied on.

Not one of them had been seen for weeks. Many of them had taken missions that had begun over five weeks ago, yet none of them had returned.

He feared the worst for them. It was unlike any of them to be gone for so long, especially for simple missions. Sadly, he didn't have time to go looking for all of them as he had no idea where any of them were and it could take ages when they had less than a month before Salem attacked Haven.

"Oz isn't going to like this," Qrow remarked.

His mind was now occupied by everything that had surfaced following Ozpin's return. He admitted that he had forced Pyrrha to take the Maiden powers, causing Jaune and Nora to heavily distrust him. He had heard of how Jaune lashed out at him and punched him straight in the jaw, receiving a slap from Ruby in return for what he did.

"Things aren't looking good," Qrow stated. "I can't find any Huntsmen, the attack is less than a month away, and we're at each other's throats." Suddenly, he heard the sound of a portal opening behind him, a black and red one just like Raven's. He frowned, expecting his sister to come through and brag about how she was right.

Instead…

"Yang?" he asked.

-0-

"What you did was inexcusable," Ren scolded his team leader as he sat on the red chair and Jaune and Nora sat on the couch. "I don't trust Ozpin either, but until further notice, I refuse to believe Oscar is just some fake."

"How can you even REMOTELY believe a word Ozpin says?" Nora asked, jumping to Jaune's defense. "The first time he admitted to what he did, he said he'd make amends. Now, he justifies it."

"That doesn't mean we should resort to violence like Jaune did," Ren replied.

"So what then?" Jaune challenged. "Are you on Ozpin's side now?" Ren narrowed his eyes at his team leader.

"I'm on humanity's side, the side that Salem is trying to destroy," he stated. "I'm not doing this for Ozpin. I'm doing this for the same reason Ruby is: to prevent Salem from wiping us out. She's proven she'll stop at nothing to destroy us…and you need to stop being so selfish, Jaune."

"Selfish?" Jaune asked. "I'm not the one who forced Pyrrha into that machine. I'm not the one who nearly…" He sighed.

"After everything that's happened, I only trust a few people: Ozpin and Qrow are not people I trust."

"Qrow saved us," Ren reminded him. "If it wasn't for him, Tyrian would've taken Ruby."

"He was using her as bait," Jaune stated. "He knew Salem would come after her and he let her."

"From what he said, she would've come after Ruby anyway," Ren responded. "At least he kept an eye on us. If anything, he helped us."

"But he's a danger to our group," Jaune stated. "His Semblance is misfortune. Staying around him increases the risk of us getting killed."

"That's true," Ren agreed. "But…" The door opened, breaking off their conversation. In walked Qrow…and Yang and Weiss.

"Yang? Weiss?" Nora asked.

"Hey, guys," Yang greeted. Before either the blonde brawler or Schnee ex-heiress realized it, they were pinned to the ground by a powerful force…that force being Nora giving them a huge hug.

"Oh, it's so good to see you guys again! How've you been?"

"Recovering," Yang said through strained breaths. "Nora…choking us…"

"I'm choking you with love," Nora responded. Jaune and Ren pulled her off, allowing Yang and Weiss to breathe.

"Where's Ruby?" Qrow asked.

"She went to the market to get food," Jaune answered. "Oscar went with her."

"Oh, great," Qrow groaned.

"Come on, Ruby can take care of herself," Yang told her uncle.

"Mistral is going to shit, Yang," the scythe user stated. "Especially with the Wild Hunt."

"The what?" Weiss asked.

"A group of human fanatics wanting to kill Faunus or kick them out of the kingdoms," Qrow explained. "They're becoming very infamous throughout Mistral, but because of the kingdom's bad history with them, the Council turns a blind eye to it."

"What's that?" Nora asked, seeing smoke in the distance.

"That's coming from the market," Qrow gasped. "Ruby could be in trouble."

-0-

Ruby and Oscar walked through the vast market of Mistral, looking for foods that looked good for dinner tonight. Not feeling okay around Jaune and Nora, Oscar had volunteered to accompany Ruby, one of the few members of the group who could look at him without wanting to hurt him.

"You doing okay, Oscar?" Ruby asked him as they approached the stalls.

"I'm fine," he responded. "I just need to be away from them for a bit." He shook his head.

"I didn't do those things, yet they're acting like I…"

Ruby wished she knew what to say to help Oscar. Jaune and Nora were being hard on him for being Ozpin's host, the host of the same man who had wronged them severely.

"Just give them time," Ruby assured. "Hopefully, Jaune and Nora will warm up to you. They just need to know you're real and…"' She stopped.

"And what?" Oscar asked. "Not a…puppet for Ozpin? I didn't ask for this."

"I know you didn't," Ruby responded. "None of us asked for this either."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Oscar questioned the reaper. "Why would you willingly get involved in this after everything that's happened?"

Ruby was silent for a moment, contemplating what she'd say next. She didn't willing get involved in Salem's war; she had come to avenge those who had died at Beacon. Until Qrow told her, she had zero idea about Salem, the Relics, or the lifelong war between her and Ozpin.

However, she had chosen to stay because she believed it was the right thing to do. She believed it was right to do what she could to stop Salem from making a repeat of the Fall of Beacon.

"When Beacon fell, I lost many friends, but one in particular: Penny Polendina, the girl who was…ripped to shreds. She was killed by…" Her teeth clenched.

"By that evil wretch, Cinder. She killed Penny just to make a statement, to cause all this chaos…and for what? For power. But Penny wasn't the only person I lost…I lost my team. Weiss was forced by her father back to Atlas; I'm scared for her, especially since her father is Jacques Schnee…and she never had a kind word to say about him. That just shows how much he mistreated her, abused her. Blake ran away without saying a word…again. We accepted her back the first time…"

Ruby did what surprised Oscar. She punched a wall in anger, her frustration and pain surfacing again. After a few moments, she retracted her hand, showing a decent dent in the wall.

"We forgave Blake because she was scared. She promised she'd never run off again…and she did it. Yang, my sister, lost her arm…and the last words we shared before I left were anger. I just wanted to help her and she pushed me away."

"Ruby…" Oscar gently addressed.

"I came here because I wanted to stop Cinder from destroying more innocent lives for her own selfish desires. I never signed on to be part of a war, but I'm doing it because…I want to believe it's right. Now I'm not sure anymore."

"About what?"

"About right and wrong anymore…and honestly, a part of me wants to stop caring."

"Why?" Oscar asked, almost shocked.

"Because I'm tired of it!" Ruby barked. "Everyone wants to give up and no one else is willing to stand and say 'we must keep going'. I always have to be the one to smile and push everyone to keep going so they don't believe that everything we've fought for was a waste of time."

Ruby exhaled to recover from her rant. Oscar could see the toll that had been taken on the young reaper Huntress, the toll she had been forced to hide to inspire the others to go on.

At this point, Jaune and Nora would definitely have no problem leaving due to their severe distrust for Ozpin. Ren would most likely accompany them out of loyalty to them, specifically Nora. In other words, they could be ready to give up the fight.

"Stop where you are!" a voice called. Ruby and Oscar turned their attention to a building with what appeared to be three militiamen, aiming their rifles at around thirty men in black armor, wielding different weapons, and red hoods.

"Those animals need to suffer for they've done!" one of them shouted. "Now move aside or you three will die with them!"

"You won't kill anyone!" Ruby shouted as she activated Crescent Rose and leapt in front of the mob. "I don't know who you are, but you better back off!"

"We're the Wild Hunt," one of them answered. "We are the ones who get justice for those who died at Beacon!"

When Ruby caught one of their faces, she was horrified. They were skull masks that were covered in dark red paint, looking almost like blood. It was definitely disturbing, but she shook it out of her head and faced the mob.

"If you want justice for the victims of the Fall of Beacon, then you're turning your attention to the wrong people!" Ruby claimed. "I would know because I was there."

"Then you'd know the White Fang is responsible for it," one of the Wild Hunt pointed out. "These Faunus need to suffer for what happened."

"The White Fang and Iron Knights were responsible, not the whole Faunus race!" Ruby defied. "These Faunus are innocent! They don't deserve to be held accountable for the White Fang's crimes!"

"They're ALL guilty!" a Wild Hunt member refused to listen. "Darren Moss is right about the Faunus. The White Fang was formed because they selfishly wanted more than we gave them."

"No, the White Fang was created because they were tired of being mistreated," Ruby stated. "Put your weapons down and leave!"

"We don't take orders from you!" another Wild Hunt member refused. "Burn that building to the ground!" The Wild Hunt holding torches threw them at the building, but with one quick motion, Ruby leapt up, swung Crescent Rose and deflected all of them.

She glared at the group of Wild Hunt, showing her adamant refusal to let them hurt the Faunus. One of them was about to shoot at her; he was knocked unconscious by a cane strike from Oscar.

"You okay?" he asked Ruby. Before she could answer, one of the Wild Hunt threw a large rock at him, hitting his stomach and forcing him onto his knee.

"_Oscar, you're not trained enough yet and you're outnumbered 15 to 1," _Ozpin stated. "Let me take this one."

"Oscar!" Ruby cried out before she realized the building was now burning. To her surprise, two Wild Hunt members had managed to set it on fire from behind.

"Get the Faunus out of there!" Ruby told the militia. "I'll deal with them."

"Then die, traitor!" one of the Wild Hunt shouted as the militia rushed into the building to save the Faunus inside. Ruby placed her scythe in the ground and spun, knocking down several Wild Hunt members. She pulled her weapon out of the ground and twirled it to deflect the attacks of several more Wild Hunt before responding with a quick swipe of Crescent Rose, knocking them all to the ground.

Oscar, who had allowed Ozpin to take over, leapt over the Wild Hunt, taking them down with lighting-fast strikes of his cane. Unlike Ruby's attacks, who were taking out the Wild Hunt members in one hit, it took several hits from Ozpin's cane to knock them down for good.

The door swung open to see the militia bring the Faunus family out, consisting of a father, a mother and two children. One of the Wild Hunt aimed his gun at one of the children, smiling as he was about to pull the trigger.

The bullet flew through the air, but instead of hitting the child, it hit a glyph in the shape of a snowflake. Ruby looked at it and knew immediately what it was…or specifically, who it was.

"Weiss!" she called out. The Schnee made her presence known by leaping in front of the family, protecting them from the Wild Hunt.

"You can't be left alone for five minutes without getting into trouble, can you?" Weiss asked her team leader.

"Hey!" she responded. Another Wild Hunt member was about to slash at Ruby, but received a robotic fist to his face, sending him tumbling.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted.

"Hey, sis," she greeted. "Having fun without me?"

"You okay, Ruby?" Jaune called out as he prepared his weapons, along with Nora, Ren and Qrow.

"Let's get out of here!" one of the Wild Hunt shouted as the members still standing made a run for it, but Ruby wouldn't allow it. She dashed in front of them and took the rest of them down.

As more militia arrived and arrested the Wild Hunt, Ruby slowly walked up to Yang and Weiss, completely silent. She had no words prepared to greet them; at least, the appropriate ones. She couldn't even look them in the eye out of fear of giving the wrong impression.

She felt two arms wrap around her, easily belonging to her sister by their strength. She heard a sniffle from Yang as a tear dropped down her cheek, landing onto Ruby's hair.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized, her voice easily filled with regret and pain. "I'm sorry for shouting at you, for pushing you away." Ruby slowly returned the embrace after hearing her sister's apology.

The two just stood there, holding each other in their embrace as everyone else looked on. Weiss sniffled and wiped a tear away from her cheek before being invited by Ruby, which she happily accepted. The three girls stood there in their embrace, happy to see each other again in such a long time.

-0-

"So?" Forest asked a mechanic after they landed in a village with the supplies necessary to fix the ship. "Can it be fixed?"

"It can, but it'll take weeks," the mechanic answered. "Some of these parts need to be replaced, but we don't have them here. We'd need to get them from the main city."

Forest groaned in frustration. They couldn't afford to wait weeks, not with Salem's forces preparing to attack Haven Academy. They had to find another way to get to the Kingdom. He walked over to Sterling and Ruadh, who were waiting on some chairs nearby.

"Well?" Sterling asked.

"The ship won't be repaired in time," Forest answered. "We'll need to find another way to Mistral."

"What about the Anima Express?" Ruadh suggested. "It'll take us straight to Mistral, won't it?"

"I already checked the map," Sterling answered as he pulled out a map of Anima and pointed to the coastal village they were currently at.

"We're here, but the nearest station is nearly one hundred leagues from here. Even if we traveled day and night, there's no telling how long it'd take considering that we're on foot."

"There has to be some way we can make it to Mistral in time," Ruadh stated.

"Maybe they can help you," a Faunus suggested, pointing to two men that were equipped and armored, yet didn't appear like Mistral officers.

"Who are they?" Forest asked, unsure of who they were.

"The militia of Silvio Steel," the Faunus answered. "Or as others call them, the Bushi Militia."

"Bushi Militia?" Forest asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who are they?"

"A militia formed in response to the chaos in Mistral's territories. With so many Huntsmen dead or missing, Mistral has very few defenders. They were formed by Silvio Steel, a young man from Mistral's upper class, to defend the kingdom's territories until the Huntsmen's numbers can be refreshed."

"How bad are things in Mistral?" Sterling asked.

"Very bad," the Faunus explained. "Especially with the Wild Hunt."

"We've heard," Sterling responded. "Who is leading them?"

"A man named Darren Moss, a known racist and advocate for revoking Faunus freedom. The Wild Hunt believe that the Faunus shouldn't have freedom, so they aim to take it from them…if they don't kill them first. People have been demanding he be arrested, but combined with Mistral's bad history with Faunus and Darren Moss's wealth and connections, they won't arrest him."

"Great," Ruadh groaned. "He's causing trouble and no one can do anything about it directly."

"So is the militia heading to Mistral?" Forest asked.

"They're heading out tomorrow," the Faunus answered. "They were bringing supplies to this settlement since we're so far from the nearest Anima Express station. If you're Huntsmen, they'll definitely take you to Mistral."

"Great," Forest replied. "Thank you. We'll go talk to them." Forest, Steeling and Ruadh walked over to the militia as they took down crates of supplies and gave it to other uniformed fighters.

"Excuse me," the eagle addressed them, immediately gaining their attention.

"What can we do for you?" one of them questioned. "You don't look like you're from around here."

"We're not," Forest stated. "We're Huntsmen from Beacon Academy. My name is Forest Kotka and these are my teammates, Sterling Silver and Ruadh Davis. We're friends of Mistral."

"Huntsmen, you say?" the militia captain asked. "Do you have identification?" Each of them held up their scrolls to show their IDs as Huntsmen, having indeed graduated from Beacon Academy.

"Good to see some Huntsmen," the militia captain said with some relief in his voice. "Gods know how much we need you."

"Where is the leader of your militia?" Sterling asked.

"He's on the Anima Express, keeping it safe from Grimm and any other enemies. He'll be returning to Mistral soon."

"Good, because we'll need his help," Forest replied. "Haven is in danger."

"What?" the militia captain asked.

"We encountered elite Iron Knights," Sterling explained. "On their scrolls, they spoke of Sanctuary, which is what the people of Mantle used to call Haven when it was first built."

"Are you serious?" the militia captain gasped.

"We wouldn't be telling you this if it wasn't true," Ruadh assured. "We need a ride to Mistral and you need Huntsmen to help. So why don't we help each other out, hm?"

"Is there any way to alert the rest of the militia from here?" Forest asked.

"No," the militia captain answered. "Scroll signals are too weak this far from Mistral. We'll only be able to contact Silvio once we're close to the kingdoms."

"That's good enough," the eagle replied with a content tone. "So, will you help us?"

"Of course. We have plenty of room. We depart tomorrow to return to Mistral. The innkeeper's willing to let our fighters stay there for the night, so I'll let him know to offer space to you three as well."

"Thank you," Forest replied with gratitude.

Despite their setback with the ship, they still found a way to get to Mistral in time to stop the attack on Haven. Not only that, but they were also going to alert Silvio Steel so he could prepare the defenses. Everything was starting to look up.

-0-

"Well?" Luna asked the doctor as Silvio laid on a medical bed.

"Silvio will live, but he lost a lot of blood," the doctor informed. "He'll need a blood transfer when we get to Mistral."

"Why can't we do it now?" Cole questioned.

"Because we don't have the necessary equipment to do so," Aria responded. "If we tried doing it here, we'd hurt ourselves without helping him."

"Yes," the doctor confirmed. "We'll do all we can to keep him steady until we arrive."

"When will we arrive?" Math asked.

"We'll hopefully be there by morning, provided the Iron Knights don't try attacking again," Luna answered.

"They may," Glaucus answered. "Nachtfel targeted Silvio because he's the leader of the Bushi Militia."

"Who's Nachtfel?" Oren asked.

"The leader of the Iron Knights," Math explained. "He's a very dangerous opponent. His Semblance allows him to dissolve into ashes and his weapon is a nodachi."

"You've met him before?" Luna asked.

"Fought him," Math added before pulling up his sleeve to show his arm brace. "And he did this to me. Without this arm brace, I wouldn't be able to fight anymore."

"Damn," Luna spoke. "He did a real number on you, huh?"

"Obviously, since he needs the arm brace to fight," Aria bluntly told her Wolf Faunus teammate.

"Be honest," Glaucus addressed Team COAL. "Are there any Huntsmen left in Mistral's territories?"

"If there are, there aren't many," Aria answered. "The Grimm and Iron Knights combined outnumbered the Huntsmen of Mistral a hundred to one. Our losses are bad…very bad. The only Huntsmen we've managed to find while on the Anima Express are dead."

"This is worse than I feared," Glaucus responded.

"How many people are in the Bushi Militia?" Pyrrha asked.

"In all, almost fifteen hundred," Oren answered. "We also have several aircraft."

"Silvio managed to get aircraft?" Nasser asked in disbelief. "Geez, how rich is that guy?"

"Well, his family has a lot of connections in Mistral," Luna explained. "Military, economy…they're easily able to fund and train the militia."

"Well, at least we're not going up against the Iron Knights with an angry mob," Robin pointed out. "Once we get to Mistral, we'll need to organize our defenses."

"But first, we need to call back as many militia as we can," Cole brought up. "When we get to Mistral, I'll head to the CCT and send out a message for all militia to return as soon as possible."

"Alright, we have a plan," Math stated with enthusiasm. "We'll need one to beat the Iron Knights."

"Sounds like it," Luna responded. "I'm guessing you guys are hungry-"

"Don't, Luna," Saf interrupted, pointing a finger at the scythe wielder. "You're not going to do that to my brother."

"Hold on, Saf," Luna replied. "I'm not planning to make crap meals like I used to."

"I don't care, I'm just hungry," Ruo responded.

"You're always hungry," Math replied. Luna walked over to Silvio and kissed his forehead before heading to the door.

"He'll survive," Cole assured Luna.

"Well, if Luna's going to cook, I'm finding something else to eat," Saf responded before leaving the room.

"I'm guessing your sister told you about me, huh?" Luna asked Math.

"Yeah," the autistic swordsman replied. "She said you're a real sadist."

"Yeah, I am," she confirmed. "But I know how to keep myself in check. I don't hurt just anyone, so don't think I'm going to hurt you just for entertainment."

"Okay," Robin replied with an unsure tone. "Yeah." Luna smiled cockily before leaving the room as well.

"Keeping our distance?" Nasser asked.

"Oh yeah," Math agreed.


	11. Levels of Distrust

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 11: Levels of Distrust**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

**Edit: I didn't feel too great with the part of Jaune leaving, so I decided to take down the chapter and rewrite it. **

"I don't get it!" Sun barked as he slammed his coconut drink on the table, sitting with Blake and Akela. "Why are they so unwilling to help us? How can they just sit by and do nothing while the White Fang gets ready to attack?"

"It's not that simple, Sun," Akela responded. "Many of the Faunus that weren't born on this island came here because they're tired of the prejudice. They don't want to survive, they want to live."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the Monkey asked, rather confused.

"In the Kingdoms, especially Mistral and Atlas, we're subjected to discrimination, racism and prejudice," Akela answered. "They have to constantly look over their shoulder just to make sure racist people aren't following them so they can kill them. Many of them live in fear of even going down the street and being shot just because of who they are. Here…no racism, no prejudice. None of that."

"I see your point," Sun acknowledged.

"But the problem is that Adam's choices will affect everyone here, whether they like it or not," Blake stated. "If Adam has his way and Haven falls, things will only get worse for the Faunus. If we think the Wild Hunt is bad, it'll definitely get worse."

"What happened to Adam?" Sun asked. "Why does he think violence is the only option?"

"Adam's family were Dust miners in Atlas, working for the SDC," Blake explained. "However, when Jacques Schnee took over, their lives became much harder."

"Because he's racist against Faunus, right?" Sun asked.

"Because he's a glory-seeking bastard who doesn't care about anyone but himself," Akela responded with contempt in his voice. "I don't think even his own family is safe from his selfishness."

"They're not," Blake spoke. "One of my teammates at Beacon was Weiss Schnee, his second daughter."

"You were teamed up with a Schnee?" Akela almost gasped.

"Yes…and she was just as much a victim of her father's selfishness. But as I was saying, Jacques's leadership over the SDC made it much more profitable, but it came at the cost of those beneath him: the Dust miners barely made enough money to support themselves and Adam's family was among them." Blake paused for a moment, remembering the gruesome scar on his face, the one that everyone saw at the rally.

"His parents tried starting a petition to get higher wages for the workers. Jacques Schnee found out and sought to silence them, so he had Adam and his family kidnapped…and killed his parents right in front of him before branding his face with an iron."

"You mean the same-?"

"Yes."

"Oh, man," Sun replied with sympathy. "That's messed up. Was he like that from the start?"

"No," Akela answered. "Adam was very passionate about helping the Faunus, but tended to look more to Sienna than Ghira due to his pacifistic methods." He groaned at the mention of Ghira's nonviolent leadership.

"You almost sound like you don't like it either," Sun pointed out to the Wolf Faunus.

"I don't believe in seeking out violence, but Ghira tried to avoid it at all costs, even when it was obvious we needed to fight back," Akela answered. "This caused Bhaal and Ghira to butt heads several times during his years in the White Fang."

Blake was silent as she considered Akela's words about Ghira's leadership. He always spoke of the need for peace, that equality cannot be achieved through violence and hatred.

One thing she had learned during her years at Beacon was that if a Faunus simply stood and did nothing, the prejudice wouldn't stop. She came to believe that they needed to defend themselves from those who sought to harm them.

She hated herself for that, for not doing what she had preached so passionately about. She hid herself out of fear of being judged and discriminated when she should've stood out for her people. She cowered away from conflict, even when others needed her. If she was going to do right by the Faunus, she had to change.

"Maybe you're right, Akela," she admitted.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"We do need to defend ourselves, but we shouldn't seek out violence," she agreed.

"Blake," Sun addressed since he was sure she'd defend her father.

"Back at Beacon, I was a hypocrite and a coward. I wanted equality for the Faunus, but I was too scared to do what was right. When I tried stopping the White Fang once, I was reckless and it got people killed. I sought out violence…and many innocent people paid the price."

"What are you talking about?" Akela questioned, not sure of what his childhood friend was speaking of.

"The Paladin Incident," Blake explained. "We thought we were ready..." She sighed in regret of her choices.

"I need to do what's right, for all Faunus," Blake stated.

"As a wise man once said," Akela responded. "If you want peace, prepare for war."

-0-

"The plan was a complete success," Fennec informed Adam as they spoke with his holographic projection. "The citizens of Kuo-Kuana have been turned against Ghira. None of them will help him."

"_Good," _Adam replied. _"We mustn't let him interfere. Did he say anything about sending a messenger?" _

"No, High Leader," Corsac answered. "However, we sent Brother Yuma to find one and deal with him if Ghira indeed sent a messenger."

"_At least it'll be away from the public eye," _Adam stated. _"However, we cannot expect Ghira to just sit and do nothing. He'll undoubtedly find a way to recruit Faunus for Haven's defense." _

"What are your instructions?" Fennec asked. "Should we attack?"

"_No,"_ Adam refused. _"Attacking Ghira will risk alienating the Menagerie populace and turning them against us. We need a plan to keep Ghira out of the way indirectly." _

"Why not use the Grimm?" Corsac suggested. "Perhaps luring them to Menagerie could keep Ghira and Bhaal too busy to recruit Faunus to their cause; they'd have to focus their efforts on keeping Kuo-Kuana safe."

"_It'd have to be done discreetly," _the White Fang High Leader pointed out. _"If we're exposed as the source of the Grimm, Menagerie will turn against us." _

"Do you agree with our plan?" Fennec asked. Adam was silent for a moment, contemplating this high-risk, yet high-reward plan. If the Albains' plan succeeded, Ghira and Bhaal would be kept occupied long enough to be out of the way of the White Fang's assault on Haven.

However, if they were caught, Menagerie would go back to supporting Ghira. Their efforts would be for nothing and they'd alienate any supporters in Kuo-Kuana.

"_You do this and do not let anyone find out," _Adam demanded. _"If anyone suspects you, stay low and stop until I say otherwise." _

"As you wish," Fennec acknowledged. "If you don't mind me asking, what do you plan to do?"

"_Sienna was right," _Adam admitted. _"Our brethren are suffering in Mistral in retaliation for the Fall of Beacon. The Wild Hunt is slaughtering our people…and I plan to stop it. I will take several White Fang down to Mistral and kill them." _

"Are you sure that's a wise decision?" Corsac asked. "If you're captured or killed, High Leader-"

"_The Faunus of Mistral need to know that the High Leader of the White Fang will fight on their behalf," _Adam interrupted. _"I've made up my mind. Now inform our followers of the plan…and no mistakes." _His projection disappeared, then the two Albain brothers smiled.

"Fool," Corsac disregarded. "If this plan does fail, High Leader Taurus will take the blame. After all, we are following his orders." Fennec chuckled.

"Indeed, brother." Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Corsac invited; in walked the chameleon Faunus Ilia Amitola.

"Sister Ilia," Fennec greeted. "Thank you for coming." She bowed her head in reply.

"What do you need from me?" she asked. "We know the operation is a success."

"Indeed," Corsac responded. "She has been buried with honor. The other branches have been given the story that was agreed upon."

"But Ghira knows of our plan," Ilia reminded. "If I hadn't been reckless-"

"Don't be hard on yourself," Fennec interrupted. "This worked in our favor. This gave us the perfect opportunity to turn the Menagerie populace against the Belladonnas. However, I'm afraid it may not be enough."

"What do you mean?" Ilia asked, confused.

"Blake and her friends have been witnessed trying to gather signatures to defend Haven," Corsac informed. "We're not sure of how many they've managed to recruit, but we still have a month left before our assault. Anything can happen."

"What should we do?" Ilia asked. "Is High Leader Taurus wanting us to attack them?"

"No," Fennec answered. "Any direct attacks on the Belladonnas will alienate our supporters in Menagerie and they could see Ghira as a martyr. We have a different plan."

"We lure Grimm to Menagerie," Corsac informed. Ilia's eyes widened in surprise at this information.

"Lure Grimm?" she asked, unsure of this plan.

"Yes," Corsac repeated. "By luring Grimm to Kuo-Kuana, Ghira and Bhaal will be too busy defending the island to recruit supporters of Haven's defense. We must simply keep it up until our victory is complete."

"This is a risky plan," Ilia replied. "If we're caught…"

"High Leader Taurus understands the consequences should we exposed," Fennec responded. "If anyone starts to suspect us, we lay low and cease activities until otherwise."

"I understand," Ilia replied. "Is it true? About the Wild Hunt?"

"Unfortunately, it is," Corsac replied solemnly. "However, High Leader Taurus plans to go to Mistral and kill them. He is aware of the consequences should he be caught or killed, but no measly human can kill him."

"As long as it helps our people," Ilia agreed.

"Thank you for your maturity in this situation," Fennec replied. "You may leave." Ilia nodded her head and exited the room, leaving the two Albain brothers by themselves.

"This may work after all," Fennec commented.

"Of course it will," Corsac assured. "Once High Leader Taurus is out of the way…the new High Leaders will take command."

-0-

Yang and Weiss sat on a couch in the house where Qrow, Team RNJR, and Oscar had been staying. They heard everything, some of which they had already heard from Raven.

"So…these Maidens, Salem…it's all true?" Weiss asked with a somewhat timid tone.

"_Indeed, it is," _Ozpin stated.

"One thing you left out," Yang brought up. "What did you do to Pyrrha?"

The room suddenly became much more silent, as if Yang had ordered Ozpin's death. With the way Jaune and Nora were glaring at him, they'd certainly support it.

"_One of the Maidens, Amber, was attacked by Cinder and her allies," _Ozpin started. _"Qrow was able to save her, but half of her power was stolen. We kept her beneath Beacon in Atlesian technology to keep her safe and alive, but we feared that Salem was closing in on us." _

"What does that have to do with Pyrrha?" Yang questioned.

"That bastard tried to force Pyrrha to take those powers!" Jaune barked before being stopped by Ren.

"What?" Weiss questioned.

"_We asked Ms. Nikos to take the Maiden's powers in the hopes of keeping them safe. However, she refused and…" _

"How could you do this?" Yang snarled. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Yang, that's enough," Qrow spoke.

"Enough?" Yang questioned with a shocked look. "How can you honestly take his side after what he did to Pyrrha? He had no right to do that."

"_I made a desperate choice in a desperate situation," _Ozpin responded. _"I don't expect any of you to approve of what I did, but I-" _

"Don't you dare justify this!" Nora barked. "What right do you have to play with people's lives!?"

The room became silent again. Ozpin looked down in regret of the fact that he had forced Pyrrha to take the Maiden powers out of desperation.

"_I was desperate," _he admitted.

"If you had the chance to do it again, would you?" Weiss asked. Ozpin exhaled before replying _'No." _

"How are we supposed to trust that?" Jaune questioned. "You promised Pyrrha a choice-"

"Stop it," Qrow demanded. "Look, Oz made a huge mistake and he must make up for it, but he's our best chance of beating Salem."

"We didn't come here to get involved in your war," Jaune stated. "We came here for Ruby, for Pyrrha, for all of those who died at Beacon."

"_Then I won't force you to stay," _Ozpin replied. _"If any of you wish to leave, then I won't stop you. There's no shame in leaving." _Jaune stood up and glared down at the boy who was the host of the Beacon Headmaster.

"Why should we trust you at all?" Jaune asked.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Qrow challenged. "Pyrrha is alive. Grow up and get over yourself."

"Get over myself?" Jaune questioned. "You don't-" Qrow then grabbed him by the collar of his jacket.

"Maybe when you're not too busy being an asshole, you can look around and take in the bigger picture. Haven is in danger and all you're doing is being a complete jackass to everyone, acting as if Pyrrha had died."

"Let go of me," Jaune demanded.

"Is that what Pyrrha taught you?" Qrow questioned. "To be a jerkass and punch people because you don't like them? You barely pull your own weight, just like what happened with that scorpion guy."

"You think I don't know that?" Jaune questioned.

"No, you don't!" Qrow stated. "Ozpin did something wrong, but he also sacrificed himself to save you. Who are you to get on anyone when you're so damn useless!?"

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby shouted, stopping her uncle's verbal onslaught. Qrow and Jaune looked at each other for a few moments before the scythe user let him go.

"Pull your head out of your ass already." Jaune frowned and shook his head before heading upstairs.

"Jaune!" Nora called out, but was stopped by Ren.

"Leave him be," he insisted gently, so Nora reluctantly sat back down.

"And the rest of you?" Qrow asked.

"You didn't have to say that to him," Weiss told the scythe user.

"Honestly, he did," Ruby agreed. "Ever since Ozpin's come back…Jaune hasn't been himself; he needs to stop being like this." She then looked to her uncle.

"I'm staying," she answered. "It's clear Salem will stop at nothing to destroy humanity. If we don't stand in her way…no one will."

"_And she has a particular interest in you, Ms. Rose," _Ozpin brought up.

"Because of my Silver Eyes?" Ruby asked. "That's why she wants me dead?"

"He didn't say dead, squirt," Qrow corrected. "If she wanted you dead, Tyrian would've tried to kill you instead of abduct you. I think Salem wants you alive."

"Well…" Yang spoke. "If Ruby's staying, then so will I. I came this far to find you." She then turned her attention to Ozpin.

"But if we're going to risk our lives, then no more lies, no more half-truths, no more keeping us in the dark. If there's something we need to know, you'll tell us…everything." Ozpin looked at Qrow, who gestured for him to give his word with the amount of tension in the group.

"_Understood," _he assured. _"I actually have a question myself, Ms. Xiao Long. You said Raven was the one who sent you, correct?" _

"Yes," Yang confirmed. "That was before the attack."

"Attack?" Qrow asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Cinder," Weiss explained. "She arrived at the camp, demanding the Spring Maiden…or Vernal as she's called. When she found out about us, Raven transported us to Qrow."

"_So Raven did have the Spring Maiden," _Ozpin realized.

"But did she find out about the camp's location?" Ren asked. "The only person we shared it with was-"

"Leonardo Lionheart," Ruby stated.

The room was once again silent. Had Lionheart deliberately betrayed them to Salem? Had he given away the camp's location, along with the Spring Maiden? Either way, Leo was definitely a key factor in Salem managing to locate Raven.

"I stopped the download before it could be completed," Qrow brought up.

"_Do you truly believe Lionheart gave Salem the camp's location?" _Ozpin questioned.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," Ren responded.

"First, he should've known that Cinder and her allies weren't Haven students since they most likely never went there, but said nothing. He's leaving Haven completely defenseless; you even said that he's disobeying specific instructions he left you."

"_We need to be certain," _Ozpin replied. _"Salem may undoubtedly have spies in Mistral, but I won't rule out the possibility." _

"Let's hope not," Qrow responded. "If it is, he could give away all information about every Huntsman in the Kingdom."

"And Salem does want Ruby alive," Weiss added. "During Raven and Cinder's talk, one of the people with her…Valkoin, I think, said Ruby was wanted alive."

"_That solidifies that fact," _Ozpin replied. _"This is certainly unexpected. The Silver Eyes…they're a danger to her. This doesn't make sense." _

"Why are my Silver Eyes so important?" Ruby asked.

"_I'll explain it another time," _Ozpin responded. _"For now, we must find Raven and the Spring Maiden before Cinder does. If they get to her first, the Relic of Knowledge will be within their grasp." _

"I'll head out," Qrow offered. "I can get there fast and I know plenty of Raven's hiding spots."

"Be careful out there," Ruby told him. Qrow nodded his head, grabbed Harbinger and walked out the door before turning into a bird and flying off.

"_Please, Leo," _Ozpin whispered. _"You are one of my most trusted friends. Please don't let this be true." _

-0-

"_You saw it_?" Nachtfel asked two Faunus Lieutenants, Cloak and Dagger, who were in an abandoned house overlooking most of Mistral.

"Yes," Dagger confirmed. "That boy has Ozpin's cane. We saw him in the Market."

"_Well done," _he complimented. _"I don't care if you kill the whole group or not, but the main priority is getting that cane and bringing it to me." _

"Yes, sir," Dagger replied, moving her hair of the way as he examined the photos of Ozpin's cane in front of her. "Is Silvio Steel dead?"

"_I didn't finish him off, so he may still be alive," _Nachtfel admitted. _"However, even if he is, he won't have enough time to bring all of his forces back to Haven in time to defend it." _

"What about the Wild Hunt?" Cloak asked more timidly. "They're still….well…"

"_I know," _Nachtfel responded_. "Adam Taurus has arrived in Mistral; he plans to deal with them before the attack on Haven, so they won't be a problem to you two for long. Now, do you suspect how many militia may be present at Haven?" _

"For an estimated guess, three hundred at the least and six hundred at the most," Dagger answered. "And they're properly trained. They may put up more of a fight than we expect."

"_Then I'll get reinforcements," _Nachtfel responded. _"An additional five hundred Knights await in the north. I'll inform them to get to Haven." _

"But the White Fang…they'll help us, right?" Cloak asked again in her timid tone, making her sister put her hand on her shoulder.

"_We must keep the militia and any other enemies busy while the White Fang destroys Haven. They've managed to identify several areas underground beneath the Academy; if explosives are set and then detonated in those areas, the Academy will collapse on itself." _

"That's good to hear," Dagger responded. "Is there anything else you need to tell us?"

"_No. Inform me as soon as you get Ozpin's cane." _

"Yes, commander." She then hung up her scroll and placed it in her pocket before going to sit with her sister.

"You okay?" she asked as she rubbed her sister's lynx ears.

"I just want it to stop," Cloak said softly. "The prejudice towards our people…I want it to stop."

"And it will," Dagger assured. "Once we've achieved our goal, the Huntsmen, the SDC, and anyone who opposes us will be wiped from existence. Then, we'll make a better world with Nachtfel in charge."

"Good," Cloak replied before hugging her sister.

"Now, get some sleep," Dagger told her. "We'll find out where they're staying tomorrow and devise a plan to get the cane…and hopefully kill them." Cloak nodded her head before going to one of the two bunks in the room and falling asleep.

Dagger went over to the window and overlooked the sleeping city of Mistral. This kingdom had never been kind to her or her sister simply because of who they were. They were part of a species that was hated for as long as humanity had remembered.

Because of this, they almost joined the White Fang…but Nachtfel found them first, offering them a world without corruption, without prejudice by destroying the sources of these horrors. She thought he'd be an evil man with no regard for the lives of his men; instead, he led them as a true leader and never considered himself above them other than being their commander. She admired the dark warrior for taking a stand where many were too scared to do so.

"I made a promise to keep my sister safe…and I will keep that promise, no matter what," Dagger whispered.

**Author's Notes: The characters Cloak and Dagger were made by Darth Stigma, who's been helping me a lot with this series. All credit goes to him for them. **


	12. A Traitor's Remorse

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 12: A Traitor's Remorse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

Jaune sat in his room, thinking about what Qrow had said earlier today. He was definitely an asshole towards Ozpin, but he had every right to be after what he did. He had traumatized his teammate, his mentor, by forcing her to take the Maiden powers against her will. To him, this showed how little Ozpin cared for the lives of others and only cared about winning.

Fed up with his attitude, Qrow called him out and even dubbed him useless. Jaune didn't want to feel that way; he had spent most of his life feeling that way, even from his own parents. The day he left, they told not to feel bad if he decided to come back home.

Unfortunately, there was a part of him that felt Qrow was right. Jaune had lied his way into Beacon by using fake transcripts that made him appear as a great warrior when in reality, he had no training whatsoever, which had made him a burden when out in the field. Every time when he entered the training ring, he always lost, often without landing any hits on his opponent.

Eventually, in an upset state of mind, Jaune revealed his situation to Pyrrha, revealing why he fell way behind everyone else. He wanted to be the hero, the one who was strong, not the 'loveable idiot stuck in the tree' that everyone always needed to rescue because he was too incompetent to look after himself.

This almost led to his downfall as a future Huntsman as Cardin Winchester had overheard their conversation and blackmailed him into being his errand boy. He took care of his homework, suffered humiliation and was treated like a pack mule all because he put his pride above his team.

However, when Cardin demanded that he help endanger Pyrrha's life by unleashing Rapier Wasps on her, he refused. Then he managed to defeat an Ursa Major who had threatened him and put his foot down, saying enough was enough. After that, he accepted Pyrrha's offer to train him.

While he had improved his skills as a swordsman, he was nowhere on par with his teammates. He knew that compared to them, he could be seen that way, but he hated that Qrow did it to defend Ozpin.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Jaune breathed and walked over to open it, revealing Weiss Schnee to his surprise.

"Hey, Weiss," he greeted. "Seems like a reversal, huh?" He chuckled in memory of the time when he asked Weiss to the dance, only to be rejected. Weiss afforded a small smile.

"Are you okay?" she asked him. The Arc lost his humorous scowl and looked down.

"Honestly, I don't know," he answered. "Ozpin lied to us. He manipulated Pyrrha and used her. How can we honestly trust him after everything he's done? And Qrow…" He clenched his fists in frustration at the event from earlier.

"How can he honestly defend Ozpin?" He sat on his bed and buried his face into his hands. Weiss walked over and sat on the bed across from him.

"Who says we have to do this for Ozpin?" Weiss asked, making Jaune look back up. "And honestly, who is Qrow to judge you? Most of the time he talks, he can be very unpleasant…and he started a fight with my sister just to humiliate her back at Beacon."

"That was him?" Jaune asked, remembering hearing about Weiss's sister getting into a fight.

"To me, that was very hypocritical of him," the Schnee stated. "But he has a point about one thing."

"What's that?" Jaune questioned.

"If Salem truly is as dangerous as they claim, then we can't be fighting among ourselves," Weiss stated. "We've seen what she's willing to do to destroy humanity. If she does the same here…" She paused.

"Honestly, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole thing," Weiss admitted.

"How did you get here to Mistral?" Jaune asked. "And how did Raven capture you?" Weiss sighed.

"My father disinherited me."

"What?" Jaune gasped. "Why?"

"He held a fundraiser to help Beacon, but in reality, he was jus doing it to boost his reputation. One woman spoke of how Beacon deserved what it got…and I accidentally summoned a Boarbatusk on her. My father was furious at me for that incident…so he disinherited me and made my brother, Whitley, the new heir."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Honestly, I should've expected it. My father doesn't see his children as people; only pawns for his own use. He disinherited Winter when she joined the Atlas Military instead of staying as his 'perfect daughter'. Now he's done the exact same thing to me because I wanted to be my own person."

"So he kicked you out?"

"No, he practically imprisoned me in the mansion until we came to an 'agreement' about my future, meaning when I decide to give up my dreams for his glory. So I escaped and bribed a pilot to bring me to Mistral where I hoped to find Winter. We were attacked by Lancer Grimm and our ship crashed, where Raven found me and planned to ransom me back to my father."

"Sounds like it's been rough," Jaune replied. "But I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks," Weiss responded, smiling at the Arc.

"It must've been great to see Yang and Ruby again."

"It's great to see all of you again," Weiss corrected before walking over to Jaune and sitting next to him.

"So, what do you plan to do?" Jaune asked. "I know you said you hoped to find Winter, but that didn't work out."

"I'm definitely staying near friends," Weiss answered. "As for this whole war…I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that I'm not going back to Atlas for now." Just then, another knock was heard on the door.

"Jaune, you coming down?" Ren asked. "Dinner's almost ready."

"Be there in a minute," he answered. Weiss stepped up and turned to face the door. What appeared out of nowhere was Weiss turning back and pecking Jaune's cheek, making him blush.

"You're not useless," she said before walking out of the door, a small smile on her face.

That was the second time someone had told him that he wasn't what almost everyone else saw him as. The best part was that it came from the young woman he had tried to woo back at Beacon.

-0-

The Anima Express was awfully quiet now that night had fallen. Everyone was asleep in their bunks while the militia kept watch in the night.

Pyrrha couldn't get to sleep; instead, she sat in the dining car, helping herself to a midnight snack. It wasn't much; just a sandwich and an apple, just to tide herself over. She couldn't bear another nightmare of what happened at the Fall of Beacon.

"Are you alright?" Safirlas asked from behind her, immediately catching her attention. The blue spear wielder sat across from her.

"I'll be seeing my teammates again," she revealed. "I haven't spoken to them in months. I'm…"

"Nervous about seeing them again," Saf finished. "Why?"

"Before they left, Jaune and I…we had an argument," the Amazon answered. "We didn't make amends before he left, so I don't know…I don't know how things will play out when we meet again."

"Well, considering all that's happened and everything they could've gone through, he may've decided it's not worth holding onto that grudge," Saf suggested.

"But that's not the only thing that's on my mind," Pyrrha went on. "I think about what Glaucus said, about Ozpin reincarnating…what if he blames me for the Fall of Beacon?"

"Then Math and I will change his mind," Saf replied sternly, implying the use of violence. "He had no right to force that on you, none. You don't really think you're responsible for what happened, do you?"

"I don't want to feel that way, but I can't seem to shake it sometimes," Pyrrha admitted. Saf reached over and firmly grabbed Pyrrha's hand.

"Don't feel that way," she gently demanded. "None of that was your fault. It was Cinder who tricked you into killing Penny. It was Ozpin who forced an impossible choice on you and then tried to do it anyway, even after you refused. None of us blame you for what happened, so don't you dare blame yourself."

Pyrrha smiled at her boyfriend's sister and nodded her head, needing the reassurance. She took a quick bite of her apple as Saf went off to get some food for herself and coming back.

"Glad they had some chocolate," she grinned with a fork in hand and started eating the piece of cake she had gotten. Pyrrha giggled.

"You and Math both really love chocolate, don't you?" she asked.

"Dark chocolate to be precise," Saf replied. "So, is everything okay between you and Math?"

"They are," Pyrrha confirmed. "Why?"

"He really loves you," Saf informed.

"As I do him," Pyrrha replied. "I'm grateful to have met him."

"Well, he's also very happy to know you," Saf replied. To Saf's dislike, Luna walked into the dining car. When she saw the two girls together, she walked over and sat next to Safirlas.

"So, how's everything going?" she asked.

"We're doing okay," Pyrrha answered in a polite tone. "How's Silvio?"

"He's stable for the moment," Luna replied. "He'll make it to Mistral in time."

"That's good to hear," Saf replied.

"So, Saf," Luna addressed. "If you don't mind me asking…what happened to your teammates? I didn't see them here on the train." The Wolf Faunus saw Saf's scowl dissolve into a sad one.

"They're gone, all of them," she solemnly answered.

"What?" Luna gasped.

"Nachtfel killed them," Saf replied, trying not to remember the horrible memory of watching her teammates die off one by one, a memory that still haunted her to this day. It had driven her into depression, to lose any motivation of being a Huntress until she had the visions of Goodwitch being captured and the Fall of Haven.

"I'm sorry," Luna apologized, placing a hand on Saf's shoulder. She waited for Saf to calm before retracting her hand and leaning on the table.

"I just don't get it," the Faunus said with confusion. "How could this have happened?"

"Because of a woman named Cinder," Pyrrha explained. "She posed as a student from Haven and manipulated everything. Yang punching Mercury, Penny…she manipulated everything to create as much negativity as possible. Now, because of her, the Kingdoms are in disarray and don't know who to trust."

"What about the Atlesian tech?" Luna asked. "We…we saw them attack civilians."

"I don't know, but Ironwood would never have ordered his tech to attack innocent people," Pyrrha replied. "My only guess is that Cinder must've found a way to take them over." Luna shook her head.

"This should never have happened," she said. "Those monsters need to pay for what they've done."

"In the views of the Iron Knights, we're the monsters," Saf responded. "Nachtfel thinks that we and anyone who supports the Huntsmen are the true evil in this world and that only by killing us can he save the world. He'll stop at nothing to destroy us."

"Then he's just a huge hypocrite," Luna stated. "How can he honestly think he's helping people after everything that's happened?"

"Hatred can do horrible things to people," Pyrrha replied.

"You're right," Luna agreed. "Well, don't stay up too late. We'll be arriving in the morning."

"I'll go to bed soon," Pyrrha answered as the Wolf Faunus left the table, most likely to catch some shuteye or check on Silvio.

-0-

"_You've done well, Leonardo," _Salem informed the Haven Headmaster through her Seer Grimm. _"Cinder and her team managed to find Raven and the Spring Maiden; however, they're now chasing them. Do you know where Raven would go to hide?" _

"Forgive me, Your Grace, but Raven never said much about her banditry and such," Leo responded. "I'm not sure of where she'd go to be safe."

"_Then for now, keep an eye on Qrow," _Salem ordered. _"He must not interfere with our plan." _

"Your Grace, ever since the day of our meeting, he hasn't contacted me," the Cowardly Lion revealed. Salem sighed in annoyance.

"_Then contact him, Leonardo," _she replied. _"Cinder said that two young Huntresses from Beacon were at the camp. They may warn Qrow of what happened. If he's warned, he'll try to find Raven…and he knows much more than we do. Keep him distracted." _

"And if he does interfere?" Leo asked.

"_Then Cinder will deal with him," _Salem responded. _"Now contact him. If he's not in Mistral, you contact me immediately."_

"Yes, Your Grace," Leo submissively answered before Salem disappeared. He slowly walked out of the hidden room and back into his office, then sealed the entrance.

Instead of heading right for his desk, Leo sat down at the tea table and poured himself a cup. He could barely sip from it due to the immense guilt he held in his heart and soul for what he had done, especially since this tea set was a gift from Ozpin.

"_Leonardo Lionheart, you are hereby appointed Headmaster of Haven Academy," Ozpin greeted a much younger Leonardo on a podium in front of the Academy. The crowd cheered at this new appointment before Lionheart took up the microphone. _

"_Thank you all," he greeted them, prompting them to silence. "I thank you, all of you for this great opportunity. I'm not one for speeches, but I'll do my best…" He exhaled in an effort to calm himself. _

"_To be put in charge of one of the Academies that train those who defend us is a great privilege and an even greater responsibility. As Headmaster, it is my responsibility to oversee the complete training of future Huntsmen and Huntresses, those who will defend the helpless, the innocent, those who cannot defend themselves. In time, I will look upon them with pride and happiness, knowing that we are entrusting our kingdom to master warriors and defenders. I hope for the future of Mistral, for all of us. And I swear I will do everything in my power to ensure the safety, welfare and security of Mistral by training warriors capable of defending it!" The crowd cheered at Leo's proclamation. _

"_Welcome, friend," Ozpin greeted. Leo smiled and shook hands with the Beacon Headmaster. _

Leo had broken that oath. Instead of defending Mistral, he had help endanger it. Instead of continuing to train Huntsmen and Huntresses, he sold out all the information he knew about them to the Iron Knights, allowing them to slaughter them. Instead of upholding the oath he swore almost thirty years ago, he had broken it to save himself from Salem's wrath. He had betrayed the trust of a man who needed his help.

"_You cannot be serious," Leo replied, two years after he became Headmaster. He and Ozpin were currently in the Headmaster's office of Haven Academy. "This Salem…she wants to destroy us, to take these Relics?" _

"_Yes," Ozpin confirmed. "I've been fighting her for millennia now because of my ability to reincarnate. If she gains the Relics, then she will win…and that means doom for us." _

"_Why did you wait two years to tell me?" Leo questioned. "Why not just tell me from the start?" _

"_This isn't information I can give out like candy," Ozpin answered. "I need to be certain about who I entrust this information to. If I told the wrong people, we could have a possible crisis in our hands…possibly even another Great War. Please understand my reasoning behind this." _

_Leo sighed. He didn't like that Ozpin waited two years to tell him about the war he had been fighting for so long. However, the Beacon Headmaster had a point; telling the wrong people could cause much trouble, much negativity…and that would attract the Grimm or even cause another Great War. His understanding of Ozpin outweighed his dislike for being told so late. _

"_So…what must I do?" he asked. _

"_You must help me keep the Relic of Knowledge safe," Ozpin responded. He then reached into his jacket and pulled out a pocket watch. _

"_What's this?" Leonardo asked as he took the device. _

"_The key to the Vault," Ozpin answered. "The Maidens unlock the Relics themselves, but the Vaults that hold them…only the Headmasters can open them. As long as this watch remains in your keeping, the Relic is safe." _

"_Thank you…for trusting me with this," Leo responded. "I won't turn my back on you." _

Unfortunately, he did. Not out of doing the wrong things for the right reasons, but solely out of cowardice and a desire to save himself.

Why should he be concerned about Mistral? What did they ever do for him? They did accept him as Haven's new Headmaster…until his Faunus heritage was revealed. When his lion tail was revealed, there was an extremely negative response to this.

"_Leonardo Lionheart is incapable of running Haven Academy," a protestor out of many gathered outside of Haven claimed. "He should be removed." _

"_Why?" Ozpin questioned, along with several Huntsmen loyal to him to keep the peace. "Just because he's a Faunus?" _

"_He's an animal," another protestor shouted. "We need people in charge of the Academy, not animals." _

"_I have been running this Academy for ten years and I've kept the promise I made to you," Leo barked. "I've been overseeing the training of Huntsmen and Huntresses ever since I became Headmaster. Now you judge me for my Faunus heritage?" _

_He felt something hit his head. He fell down and held where he had been hit. He felt a sharp pain in his head, despite his Aura protecting him from suffering any real damage. _

_He saw a rock a few meters from him, one that had undoubtedly been thrown. Two of the Huntsmen apprehended the person responsible and manhandled him, forcing him onto his knees. _

"_Release me!" he demanded, but the Huntsmen wouldn't listen. _

"_Release him!" Ozpin ordered. Only after he gave the order did the Huntsmen back off. _

"_Leave now!" one of the Huntsmen demanded as the crowd was showing signs of becoming violent. _

The police didn't do anything to suppress the riot; they wouldn't defend a Faunus. Instead, the Huntsmen acted on Ozpin's orders, though he demanded to use nonlethal methods. Despite his orders, several of them were killed, forcing the rest to flee. Because the Special Units didn't exist yet, the Huntsmen walked away from it without any consequences, other than Ozpin expressing disappointment in the needless deaths.

Ever since that day, many people in Mistral, especially the leader of the Wild Hunt, Darren Moss, made it no secret that they hated him for being a Faunus. He had endured so much scorn and hatred, sometimes even from his own students. Luckily, many of them still respected him.

They shouldn't respect him anymore. He deserved to be hated for what he's done. He had betrayed the kingdom he swore to protect. He betrayed the man who entrusted him as his ally. It had started five years ago when his loyalty was tested…when he was taken.

"_Here he is," Tyrian told Salem as he presented Leo to her. The Haven Headmaster looked around with anxiety, wondering where he was since he was abducted so suddenly. _

"_Hello," a woman's voice greeted. Leo looked up to see a deathly pale woman with white hair, red and black eyes and veins all over her body. There was only one person she could be: Salem. _

"_Who are you?" he demanded to know, standing up and activating his shield, raising it up. _

"_Kneel before the Queen!" Tyrian demanded angrily, making Leo look at him. _

"_Make me," he challenged. The scorpion lunged at Leo, who blocked the attack with his shield and threw a punch at Tyrian. The psychotic fighter kicked at the lion's knee, making him fall to the ground. _

_Leo quickly recovered and activated the Dust in his weapon, throwing a fiery rock at the scorpion and landing a successful hit. The lion rushed over and pinned Tyrian to the ground, preparing to beat him down and finish him off. _

_Before he could, a Grimm arm grabbed his free hand and pulled him to the floor. He was then wrapped by many other arms that pulled him down, leaving him unable to move. As he struggled, Salem walked over to him and smiled. _

"_You are resilient, Leonardo Lionheart," she stated with a smile. "But I will break you…and you will serve me." _

"_Never," he growled. _

"_I can sense your fear," she pointed out. "All I need to do is draw it out." _

For three months, he was missing. To cover up what happened, Leo claimed that he had been left stranded where there was no scroll reception and had to travel back after freeing himself. Even Ozpin bought his lie, one he didn't want to give.

In reality, Salem tortured him. At first, he was resilient and brave, but just as Salem predicted, his fear won out. In time, he was reduced to the frightened and cowardly man he was now.

"Why?" he almost cried. "Why did this have to happen? I…I didn't want to betray Ozpin. I didn't want to betray one of the few people who showed me genuine friendship. I've done things Ozpin will never forgive…and he shouldn't."

In truth, when Salem's attack on Haven was complete, Leo was considering taking a gun and pulling the trigger on himself. There was no way he could live with himself after all the atrocities he had committed. But he had no choice; he was too deeply involved in Salem's evil.

Reluctantly, he put the tea down and went over to the desk to contact Qrow.

First call, didn't pick up.

Second call, still nothing.

Third call, Qrow didn't respond.

"Oh no," Leo gasped. He knew what this possibly meant: Qrow had been informed of the attack and had gone off to find Raven.

-0-

"Morning," Math greeted his friends as they sat down in the dining car, along with Cole, Oren and Aria.

"Wait, where's Luna?" Saf asked.

"She's making breakfast," Cole answered.

"She's doing it to test your brother," Aria answered bluntly.

"Oh no, she's not," Saf replied, her eyes widened. Just then, Luna came out of the kitchen with cooked food on a cart, walking in their direction. Saf half-expected Luna to pull out some sort of horrendous food for her brother, but instead, the eggs, bacon, hash browns and pancakes she made all looked incredibly delicious.

"How'd you find the time to make all that?" Ruo asked.

"I got up early," Luna answered. "Now eat up. We'll be arriving in Mistral soon." Math was about to reach for some bacon, but Saf stopped him.

"You're seriously going to test my brother?" she bluntly challenged Luna.

"You said how much of a terrible cook I was," the Faunus brought up. "If they think I'm that terrible, then they don't have to eat my food."

"Saf, I'll try it," Math told her. He took a piece of bacon and ate it.

"I'm getting a plate," he replied positively. Luna smiled at Math's positive reaction to her cooking, then smirked at Safirlas cockily.

As everyone ate Luna's food, she took a plate, put some food on and sat next to Oren.

"So, do you know how many militia may make it back to Mistral in time to help defend Haven?" Math asked.

"Well, considering they're all over Mistral's territories, hopefully seven hundred at the most will be present," Oren answered. "However, some will have to remain in areas that need to stay guarded; we cannot leave them unprotected."

"So we're going up against the White Fang and Iron Knights with probably seven hundred soldiers, maybe even less?" Nasser asked. "Are you sure there are no more Huntsmen who can help us?"

"If we knew, we'd tell you," Aria answered. "But like I said, most of the Huntsmen we've encountered are either dead or too injured to fight. Like it or not, the Bushi Militia is all we have in terms of defense."

"And us," Robin reminded. "We've fought the Iron Knights before, so we can definitely give some pointers."

"Good," Oren responded. "That'll lessen our casualties in the battle to come."

"_All aboard the Anima Express, we'll be arriving at the Mistral Station in fifteen minutes," _the train operator announced over the intercom. _"All looking to get off, please gather your belongings and prepare to disembark." _

"We're here!" Math exclaimed. He rushed over to the window to see the city of Mistral in the distance, followed by Nasser and Robin.

"Everyone," Glaucus told them. "Welcome to the City of Mistral."

**Author's Notes: I'd like to give several shoutouts! **

**Red Eyes Shadow Dragon is working on a new Fanfic called Team FEAR. Make sure to read it when you can. **

**PaladinofArgyle has restarted his PALDN series. **

**Make sure to read Someone Special (Yang x Male Reader) by SlinkyDog, ALMD Volume 1 by Je'daii1298, and Team SLFR by Lorenzo the Maelstrom.**

**A shoutout to Darth Stigma, who's been helping me on my MRRN series for a while. He's given me several ideas that I've used in the series, so I want to thank him for helping me out.**

**Make sure to show support to your fellow writers. They all work hard to put their work out where everyone can see it, enjoy it and even get hated (I'm talking about a certain unpleasant Fanfiction user *cough* DeliriousDingo *cough*). They all deserve credit for their works. Keep reading. **


	13. Created, not Born

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 13: Created, not Born**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Raven flew around the area, making sure Cinder and her crew weren't nearby. She flew around several times, but made sure to stay low to the ground since Valkoin would've undoubtedly told Salem of her and Qrow's ability to become birds. When she was certain they were safe, she flew down to Vernal and changed back to her human form.

"We're safe for now," Raven told the Spring Maiden. "I don't see them anywhere."

"Good," Vernal replied. "Our hideout's only a few more days from here. If we can get there, we'll lose them."

"That's the plan," Raven agreed. "Let's get moving. Hopefully, the rest of our tribe are making their way there as we speak." Raven and Vernal continued on through the forest while remaining absolutely vigilant.

"How come you never told anyone you had a daughter?" the Spring Maiden asked. Raven was silent; she hoped Vernal wouldn't ask about Yang.

"Is it true? You abandoned her?"

"I did what was best for the tribe," Raven responded. "Yang…she's not a member of the tribe."

"But still, she's your daughter," Vernal insisted. "You always said 'family need to stick together'. Was that a lie?"

"Don't question me," Raven demanded. "If anything, Qrow is the one who should be hated. He left us for Ozpin."

"And you left your daughter," Vernal pointed out. The bandit chief stopped and turned to face the Spring Maiden.

"What are you saying exactly?" she questioned.

"You abandoned your own daughter when you always say that family must stay together. I'm sorry, Raven, but that is so hypocritical of you."

"I made a choice," Raven responded to justify what she did. "The tribe needed me, so I chose them over Yang, which I'm happy I did."

"What?" Vernal asked, disbelief on her scowl.

"This is her fault. We wouldn't be in this mess if not for her."

"How can you honestly say that? Cinder was the one who burned down our camp, not Yang."

"But she gave herself away because of her negativity. We would've been just fine if she hadn't screwed up."

"Then why did you help them escape?" Vernal challenged.

Raven fell silent and looked away. If she blamed Yang for the destruction of their camp, why did she help them escape from the chaos? Why didn't she just leave Yang and her friend to die?

"I didn't want them slowing us down," the Branwen answered, but Vernal wasn't convinced.

"Seriously, Raven? You abandon her for years, blame her for not finding you when she had no idea where to look, and then blame her for this?" Raven shook her head.

"I don't need to explain myself to you," she dismissed. "Now let's keep moving…and no more mentioning Yang."

Vernal was disgusted by Raven's hypocrisy on the topic, especially since she almost supported everything she did. Raven always criticized Qrow for leaving them, for choosing Ozpin over the tribe. She always preached about how family needed to stay together.

Who was she to criticize? She abandoned her daughter for years and made no attempt to contact her. From what Yang said, she hadn't sought her out once in her life. When she arrived, she blamed Yang for not finding her sooner and now blamed her for Cinder's actions.

"You always got on Qrow for abandoning us," Vernal brought up. Raven frowned and grabbed Vernal by her shirt.

"He did abandon us," she stated.

"And what exactly did you do to Yang?" Vernal questioned.

Unexpectedly, Raven backhanded Vernal, making her stumble back. The Spring Maiden held her face as she looked back at Raven, disgusted by her hypocrisy and abandoning her own daughter.

"That is enough," the Branwen demanded. "I did what I had to for the tribe. Now, I don't want to hear another word about Yang."

Raven hated that Vernal called her out on her abandoning her own daughter. She hated being called out for her hypocrisy, especially from her own tribe.

She didn't want to admit it, but she personally wish Yang had never found her. To her, Yang brought out her weaknesses and shortcomings, ones she hated everyone seeing. She had done her best to get rid of any feelings she had for her daughter over the years, but at times, she couldn't help but think back to her.

When she left, she was certain that Tai wouldn't say anything about her. Despite that, Yang still discovered Raven's existence and set out to find her. She knew Yang had been looking for her all these years and made no attempt to contact her.

Her bandit training demanded strength, so she believed that Yang must find her on her own without any help. She had to wait for Yang to find her so as to prove her determination.

Raven refused to believe that it was her fault that Yang didn't find her earlier. Even though she had never left any clues, never made any attempt to contact her, didn't even come by to check on her in person after her arm was lost…Raven didn't want to think that Yang not finding her was her fault.

In her mind, the strong were never to blame; only the weak. It was Shion's fault for not being able to defend themselves, even though it was Raven's attack that attracted the Grimm in the first place. It was Qrow's fault for abandoning the tribe, despite his disgust for their ways of murdering and thieving. It was Yang's fault for their camp being destroyed, even though Cinder was the one who started it. It was Salem's fault that she got involved, disregarding the fact that she willingly chose to harbor a Maiden.

"_Please, help me," a younger Raven pleaded to her brother, Qrow, as her ankle was sprained after falling down a hill. He was about to go over and help her, but the bandit chief forbade him. _

"_No," he refused. "If Raven's going to survive, she must learn to be strong. You will not help her." _

"_But her ankle is sprained!" Qrow pointed out. "She won't make it back up." _

"_If she wants to survive, she will," the bandit chief stated before looking to Raven. _

"_Do you remember our credo, Raven?" The black-haired girl looked up, her eyes swelled with tears from the pain of her swollen ankle. _

"_Strength is virtue, weakness is sin," she answered. _

"_Exactly," the chief responded. "Which means what you're doing now is sin. You're being weak. Climb up this hill by yourself." Raven tried to climb up the hill, doing what she could to avoid using her ankle, but she kept falling to the bottom. Qrow kept insisting to help her, but the bandit chief adamantly refused. _

"_She needs help!" Qrow barked. "There's nothing wrong with helping our own!" _

"_But helping the weak makes us weak!" the chief responded. "If Raven wants help, she will become strong. Until then, she is weak…and weakness is a sin." He then pushed Qrow to two bandits. _

"_We're heading back to the camp," the chief stated. "Keep an eye on Qrow." _

"_We can't just leave her!" Qrow shouted. Angrily, the bandit chief grabbed the young boy's throat. _

"_You insolent shit," he snarled. "I am your chief. It is not your place to question my commands nor to speak out against me. It is your place to do as you're told and obey me." He then released his grip from the young boy. _

"_You will never help Raven again," he stated. "Defy me and I will punish you much more severely." He then looked up to the two bandits holding him. _

"_Take him back to his tent and don't let him leave. If he tries to escape, bring him to me." The bandits left as Qrow resisted, wanting to help his sister. _

Raven didn't make it back until sunset. She hoped to come back to a good meal and warm welcome; instead, the bandits jeered at her and refused to let her eat. When she tried taking food, the chief caught her and flogged her as punishment.

In her mind, what he did was very cruel, but necessary. Raven was weak and the tribe couldn't allow weakness of any sort. They had to survive and all she would've done was drag them down. Almost nothing she did was good enough for the chief…until she finally got her chance.

"_You wanted to see us?" a teenage Raven asked the bandit chief alongside her brother. _

"_Sit down," he instructed. Both Qrow and Raven sat down on the cushions in front of the chief. _

"_Is this about our last raids?" Qrow asked. _

"_It would've gone so much better if the Huntsmen hadn't intervened," the chief stated. "They are starting to pose a real threat to our tribe; most of our raids have gone terribly bad because of them. If this keeps up, we won't survive." _

"_What's our solution?" Raven asked. The bandit chief pointed to the Kingdom of Vale on the map, but as the twins looked, they could see he was pointing to a specific part of the map._

"_Beacon Academy," he answered. "They are one of the Four Academies that train Huntsmen. If we can learn how to kill them, we'll survive." _

"_So that's where we come in," Qrow guessed. "You want us to go to Beacon." _

"_You and your sister are the perfect age," the chief explained. "They won't know who you are, which gives you an advantage." _

"_When do we leave?" Raven asked. _

"_Tomorrow," the chief answered. "Pack everything you need and prepare for Beacon." The twins got up to leave, but the chief spoke "Raven, stay. I wish to have a word with you." Reluctantly, Raven sat back down as Qrow was forced to leave the tent. _

"_Yes?" she asked. _

"_I hope you realize how much of a disappointment you are," the chief told her. _

"_But I've gotten better," Raven claimed. _

"_Yet you are still not strong enough. This is your chance to prove yourself to the tribe. Go to Beacon and become what we need to fend off the Huntsmen. Come back a Huntress…or don't come back at all." _

_Raven looked down and nodded her head in response. She stood up and went over to leave the tent. _

"_Always remember," the chief told her. "Strength is virtue, weakness is sin. Whatever makes you weak, purge it." _

Those were the words Raven lived by. However, all that changed when she met Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long. Those two changed her life forever…and almost made her forget her promise to the tribe.

"Raven," Vernal told her. The two bandits listened for a moment before a fireball was shot at them. The two of them looked back to see Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald.

"How did I not see you?" Raven gasped.

"Oh, dear Raven," Cinder taunted. "It was only a matter of time before I found you. Now give us the Maiden."

"No," Raven refused before putting on her mask. She gestured to Vernal to use her Maiden powers, summoning a loud and powerful lightning bolt in front of the three pursuers. When the dust from the lightning strike cleared, Raven and Vernal were gone.

Cinder raised an eyebrow at the event that transpired. She noticed how Raven put on the mask right before Vernal used the Maiden powers; also, Vernal's eyes didn't glow when she summoned the lightning bolt. She knew too well that the Maiden's eyes always glowed when their powers were used.

"Dammit, they got away!" Mercury growled.

"We'll find them," Cinder assured. "Once we have them, we'll get the Relic…and Ruby." Just then, her scroll went off; the number belonged to Valkoin Viisaus, no doubt to get on her for trying to alter the plan. She sighed before answering.

"What do you want, old man?" she questioned.

"_What happened?" _Cinder's eye widened when she heard Salem's voice. Her tone was calm, but the Fall Maiden could easily sense the anger in the Grimm Queen's voice.

"Things went south, ma'am," she answered.

"_You tried to alter the plan," _Salem corrected. _"Your task was simple: convince Raven to hand over the Spring Maiden and get the Relic. We have a schedule to keep in case you've forgotten." _

"Two people were hiding there," Cinder informed. "They were Ruby's teammates. They started the fight."

"_I've no doubt they did," _Salem replied. _"Why didn't you take the opportunity to secure the Spring Maiden during the chaos? And why did you try to alter the plan?" _

"We can kill two birds with one stone," Cinder suggested. "We can get the Relic AND get Ruby at the same time."

"_No," _Salem refused. _"If you try to get the Relic during the battle, there is a chance that Qrow and Glaucus's forces will get it." _

"Glaucus?" Cinder asked. "He's in Mistral?"

"_Nachtfel saw him on the Anima Express with Pyrrha Nikos and Team MRRN," _Salem informed.

"Pyrrha…" Cinder spoke, her surprised expression changing to a sinister smile.

"_You will not sabotage my plan for the sake of your grudge with Ruby," _Salem stated. _"Once you get Raven, you take her to Haven immediately and get the Relic. Hazel will get Ruby. Am I understood?" _

"Yes," Cinder replied. "We'll find Raven and the Spring Maiden."

"_Good," _Salem responded before hanging up. Cinder frowned.

"Cinder?" Emerald asked.

"We'll get the Relic during the night of the attack," she told the street rat.

"What?" Mercury asked. "You heard Salem. She-"

"You're loyal to me, not her," Cinder interrupted. "And I will not have my desires questioned by anyone, not even Salem."

"Are you serious about this?" Mercury questioned. "You're talking about screwing over Salem big time."

"I've done so much for Salem," Cinder angrily stated, clenching her fist to create flame. "I helped destroy Beacon. I killed Ozpin's last form, meaning by the time he reincarnates, it'll already be too late. I stole the Fall Maiden's power and am ready to get the Relic of Choice once we get Ozpin's cane. I've given EVERYTHING to her." Mercury and Emerald backed away from the Maiden as the flame in her hand grew larger.

"I want all of the Maiden powers. I want Ruby Rose and Pyrrha Nikos dead…and I will get what I want and Salem will not stand in my way."

"Are you…considering taking the Relic for yourself?" Emerald asked.

"Is that a problem?" Cinder questioned and was met with silence. "Good. Now let's move."

-0-

Nachtfel overlooked the organizing of his attack force, numbering nearly a thousand. They were armed to the teeth with guns, blades, axes, and shields, prepared for both ranged and close quarters combat. They were ready to raze Haven Academy to the ground.

"Commander," an Oni asked, the one who had been tasked with leading the assault on Haven. "Forest Kotka and his friends were seen with the Bushi Militia west of Mistral. The Disciples we sent after them must've been killed."

"How could they best my strongest warriors?" Nachtfel growled. "You willingly modified yourselves for our cause, to be the truly elite. How could they've been beaten?"

"Forest Kotka is much stronger than we thought," the Oni answered. "We expect he'll make it to Mistral in time for the assault. What are your orders?"

"We keep to our schedule," Nachtfel answered. "They don't know of our plan of attack, meaning we still have the advantage."

"But Glaucus discovered when we attack," the Oni brought up. "He wouldn't be in Mistral if he didn't know."

"He knows of when we plan to attack, but not how," Nachtfel stated. He took out his scroll and showed a map of Haven Academy.

"There are tunnels underneath Haven Academy, but Headmaster Lionheart only knows about the Relic Vault. There are support columns in those tunnels that help hold Haven up; while you and the main force keep the Bushi Militia distracted, a small splinter force will enter the tunnels, apply explosives to the columns and detonate them, causing Haven to collapse on itself."

"I understand, sir," the Oni acknowledged. Just then, shouting was heard from the camp. Nachtfel and the Oni walked down to see what was going on; when they arrived, they found five beaten Huntsmen dragged by Iron Knights to the camp.

"Look what we found," one of them sadistically chuckled.

"Huntsmen," Nachtfel stated as he examined them. "Monsters."

"You're the monsters!" a bearded Huntsman shouted. "You helped destroy Beacon! You endangered millions of lives! Your whole crusade is nothing but hatred and hypocrisy!" Nachtfel bashed the man in the face angrily.

"We are the monsters?!" he roared. "Then you clearly don't understand how righteous our cause is!"

"How can you honestly call yourself righteous!?" the Huntsman questioned.

"Because you claim to be our protectors, but are nothing more than mercenaries who sell themselves to the highest bidder," Nachtfel answered. "I know firsthand. Speaking of which…" He removed his gauntlets to reveal his burned hands, shocking everyone here.

"I once lived in Solitas, in a peaceful village. I had a great father, a loving mother, a beautiful young sister…I loved them, all of them. One day, Huntsmen came and took over our village. They…'had fun' with our local women, one of them being my mother; when my father fought against them, he was killed, hacked apart and thrown to the dogs. The Huntsmen threatened to attract the Grimm to our village unless we allowed them to have the wealth of our Dust Mine." Nachtfel paused for a moment, standing front of a large bonfire.

"No matter we did, they never left. They continued to violate our people, to steal what was not theirs to take. I fought back against one of them when they hit my sister; for that, I was tied to a post, flogged until I passed out and starved for three days. Starving a fourteen-year-old boy…what kind of heroes allow such a thing, least of all commit it? Do you want to know what happened to our village?"

"What happened?" the Oni asked, sensing the commander's pain. Nachtfel managed to hide the sniffle and tear that ran down his face.

"When we had no more to give them…they burned down our village and left us to the Grimm. My mother, my sister…were torn to pieces while I alone survived. I wandered around the cold land until a family took me in and raised me as their own. They worked in the Dust Mines for the SDC while Nicholas Schnee was in charge. I thought that there would be some kindness among the Huntsmen since they were asked to protect our village." He shook his head.

"No. When Jacques Schnee took over, he hired Huntsmen to 'keep us in line'. They forced everyone to work, anyone who could hold a pickaxe. I, who was eighteen at the time, was forced to work in those mines, day and night. They demanded everything from us and gave nothing in return, other than beatings and the sight of them lazing around. One of them even decided to throw a Fire Dust crystal at me…just for fun!" He felt the urge to grab his nodachi and draw it, but he resisted for now as he wanted to complete his story.

"Eventually, Grimm came to the mine and started to slaughter the workers. The same Huntsmen who were sworn to protect us…they fled, leaving us to die. Again, I alone survived. I took it as a sign…a sign that I was meant to end your evil. I spent fifteen years learning to fight Huntsmen, to kill them; during those years, I hunted down each of the Huntsmen who destroyed my village, who left my family to die, and abused those they were sworn to PROTECT!" He finally gave in, unsheathed his sword and slashed one of them in half.

"I've seen who you truly are and it is my responsibility to destroy your evil, aided by those brave enough to stand up to you! We will hunt down every last Huntsman and Huntress, everyone who supports them, and we will bring peace and freedom to the world of Remnant! Hang them with barbed wire!" The Iron Knights took the Huntsmen over to a long, sturdy branch that would support their weight from being hanged.

"You will never win!" the bearded Huntsman shouted. "There will always be someone to stand in your way!"

"Send whoever they wish," Nachtfel replied. "Every last one of them will fall because nothing will stop us! Nothing!"

Several Iron Knights returned with barbed wire and started to wrap them around the four remaining Huntsmen's necks. They then threw the remaining wires over the branches to pull them, watching as they struggled for breath. To Nachtfel's ire, they were lasting much longer than he hoped. He took a handgun from one of the Knights and shot each of the Huntsmen dead, leaving their bodies to hang lifelessly.

"Now you know why I must do this, why we must do this," Nachtfel addressed his Knights. "The Huntsmen have unlimited power, which they use to prey on the weak, the defenseless…just like they did to my families, to my village, to the people they abandoned to death!" The Knights cheered.

"Do you know why WE must do it? I'll tell you why: the world sees the Huntsmen as angels, as guardians who'd fight evil tooth and nail to protect the innocent, but that's a lie. In reality, they do whatever they want and get away with it; even with the Special Units, they are not properly punished for their wrongdoings. It's a lie the world has bought and will continue to do so until we expose the truth!" The Knights cheered once more.

"The world will know the evils of the Huntsmen! Fifty years from now, they'll call us the guardians and them the monsters as it should be. In two weeks' time, we will march on Haven Academy and destroy it! Those who have wrongly mistreated us will know our wrath…and we will bring swiftly and powerfully! We will have VICTORY!" The Knights burst into cheers at Nachtfel's speech, invigorated in their cause now more than ever.

Unknown to Nachtfel, a Vacuo Golden Eagle watched everything, sadly unable to help the Huntsmen. He flew away, ready to meet back up with his companions, which were a few dozen miles away.

"Forest?" Sterling asked as the swordsman returned and changed back to his human form. "What happened?"

"It was an Iron Knight camp," Forest informed. "We must hurry now."

"Did you find out anything?" the militia captain asked.

"I'll explain on the way," Forest answered. The three Huntsmen jumped back into the vehicles and went off.

-0-

"Underground tunnels?" the militia captain asked. "That's their plan?"

"The main attack is a diversion," Forest stated. "If they destroy those support columns, Haven will collapse on itself."

"How many do they have?" Sterling asked.

"Nearly a thousand, maybe more. But Nachtfel's not leading the assault; one of his Oni is."

"Oni?" Ruadh asked. "The same Huntsmen we fought back in Sanus? The samurai?"

"Yes," Forest confirmed. "I don't know what Nachtfel plans to do, but we'll need to figure that out later. Our priority needs to be ensuring Haven's survival."

"Which means getting our asses to Mistral and warning Silvio," Ruadh stated. "Hopefully, we'll have enough defenders to protect Haven."

"We will," Forest replied. "We must. We cannot fail, or it'll be the Fall of Beacon all over again."

"Then let's not waste time," the Bushi captain responded and reached for the radio. "All units, double-time back to Haven. We travel day and night, swap out drivers if necessary. We stop only to refuel; I repeat, stop only to refuel. Over and out."


	14. Attack on Menagerie

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 14: Attack on Menagerie**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

Silvio Steel was put on a stretcher by two militia before he was taken off the train, accompanied by Teams COAL and MRRN. While he was unconscious, he was still in stable condition. Luna had already informed several doctors of their impending arrival and had come to greet them.

"How is he?" one of them asked.

"He's stable, but he needs medical attention," Aria answered. "He lost a lot of blood."

"We'll get him to an emergency room right away," the doctor assured as they led the militia to the nearest hospital.

"We're going with him," Cole told the others. "Darren Moss may try something to get rid of him."

"Why?" Nasser asked. "That practically goes against what he's preaching: humans over Faunus."

"Specifically, humans over Faunus and those who help them," Aria replied. "He sees Silvio as a traitor to the human race, especially for his relationship with Luna."

"In other words, he's complete scum," Math stated. "Well, take care of him."

"We will," Oren assured. "Once he's recovered, we'll discuss our strategy of defending Haven."

"Actually, I'll head to Haven," Cole told everyone. "I'll send out a message to the militia to return as soon as possible."

"I'll go with you," Glaucus answered. "I must warn Lionheart about the attack on Haven."

"And the rest of us?" Ruo asked. "We can't just sit here."

"Go to the Huntsmen Mission Area," Glaucus told them. "See if there's any Huntsmen available. Text me whatever names you can find."

"Will do," Math assured. "Saf, you know where it is?"

"Yeah," she answered. "Let's go." The group broke off in three different directions: MRRN, Jinse, Pyrrha and Safirlas to find Huntsmen, Glaucus and Cole to Haven and Oren, Aria and Luna to escort Silvio to the hospital to receive treatment.

Jinse looked back at Ruo to see him in a tenser state than before. He appeared as if he was on guard for any ambushes from the Wild Hunt, especially after witnessing their atrocities on the Anima Express. There was no telling of what could happen.

"Ruo?" Robin asked before Jinse could. "You okay?"

"I'm just…being vigilant," Ruo answered.

Just then, Saf stopped as she gazed upon a blue copy of Ruo, meaning she was having another vision. The blue copy ran off; despite running behind buildings, she could still see him clearly. He then pounced onto another blue figure, broke his arm…and clawed him to death.

"Saf?" Math asked. "Another vision?"

Before his sister could answer, Ruo's ear tweaked, hearing something from around the corner. He frowned and hurried around to see what was happening, Jinse following him; the others were confused by what was happening, but immediately following after them.

"Ruo!" Math called out; though the White Tiger Faunus could hear him, he ignored him and turned. As suspected, several humans wearing skull masks surrounded a human male and Faunus female with guns pointed at them.

"Leave them alone!" he roared, his calm and collected scowl replaced by complete anger.

"Piss off or we'll kill you too!" one of them stated.

"Stop!" the female Faunus pleaded. "Don't shoot us! The Wild Hunt only target Faunus!"

"Anyone who associates themselves with the Faunus is our enemy," one of the masked men responded.

"Then I guess we're all your enemy," Math replied as he appeared and unsheathed Dochas-Mhadaidh. One of the Wild Hunt noticed the redhaired Amazon and his eyes widened in anger.

"You!" he roared. "Pyrrha Nikos! You're one of those responsible for this! You murdered Penny Polendina!"

"I was tricked!" Pyrrha claimed. "It was an accident!"

"It was your actions that attracted the Grimm!" one of the Wild Hunt stated. "You're just as guilty as the Faunus!"

"Wow, you guys are real self-righteous assholes," Robin pointed out. "You just love calling out others for their flaws when you hypocrites are so blind to the lives you destroy, to the damage you cause."

"How dare you!" one of the Wild Hunt shouted. A gunshot was heard and everyone looked to the couple that was surrounded. In a matter of moments, the human male fell dead onto the ground, blood seeping from the gunshot wound.

"Murderer!" Ruo shouted as he pounced onto the member who shot him. Before the other two could react, Math threw Torrach at them and took them out.

A scream of pain was heard; the group looked to see that Ruo had broken the man's arm by painfully bending it backwards, making some of them feel queasy at the sight. Saf gasped in horror as she suspected what was about to happen next.

"No!" she cried out as she pulled Ruo away from the man, now wheezing in pain from his arm being badly broken.

"He deserved it!" the Faunus responded. "He murdered an innocent man!"

"And you were about to do the same," Saf stated.

"What?" Math asked before it clicked. "That was your vision, wasn't it?"

"Ruo…you were going to kill that man," Saf revealed, but Ruo didn't seem affected by it.

"So what?" he dismissed. "They're murderers. They say they want justice, even though they are killing anyone who is a Faunus or is helping a Faunus."

"He's beaten," Math firmly stated. "He's not worth killing." Ruo growled before walking away, leaving the Wild Hunt member to wheeze from his broken arm. They looked over to see that the female Faunus was gone, probably having run away when given the chance. Math then held up his scroll, took a picture and then forwarded it to Glaucus.

"The police need to know about this," he stated. "They need to know that the Wild Hunt are murdering everyone."

"They won't do anything," Ruo responded. "They'll just a blind eye to it like before."

"Then we inform the militia," Math suggested. "The people of Mistral need to know how far the Wild Hunt is going."

"If the people of Mistral cared about who the Wild Hunt is hurting, they would've done something about it by now," Ruo dismissed yet again. Math shut his scroll and put it back in his pocket.

"The militia arrested the Wild Hunt members on the Anima Express…well, those still alive," he replied. "Once people see that the Wild Hunt are hurting the people they're claiming to protect, claiming to be superior-"

"Don't you get it!?" Ruo barked. "This isn't Vale, this is Mistral. Nobody cares about the Faunus here!"

"You're wrong, Ruo!" Pyrrha refused. "I've met plenty of people here who care about the Faunus. They'd be disgusted by the Wild Hunt's actions. Besides, if no one cared, Silvio wouldn't have had those remaining Wild Hunt members arrested."

"Well, too bad it's not enough to take down that bastard, Darren Moss!" Ruo snarled. "As long as he runs the Wild Hunt, they'll just keep doing whatever they want."

"Ruo, calm down," Robin sternly told him. "I know you've been hurt, but that doesn't mean Mistral is hell on Remnant."

"It is to me," the Faunus replied before walking off. Math and Robin walked over to the Wild Hunt members, put them all up together and told Pyrrha to use metal to bind their hands and feet.

"Let's go," Saf insisted, continuing to lead them to the Huntsmen Mission Area, which wasn't much further, though Ruo was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd he go?" Math asked, unsure of where his teammate was. "Dammit, Ruo, don't do this again."

"I'll go find him," Jinse offered. "I know where he may be going. I'll message you when I find him." Math silently agreed with her and she went off to find the White Tiger.

"Something's not right with Ruo," Saf stated.

"Well, Saf…it's not exactly something I can say out here," Math replied. "But yeah, he's not happy about being here."

"I just hope he doesn't do something stupid again," Nasser replied. "Geez, who'd ever thought he could be so stupid?"

"Hey, come on," Robin responded. "He's been through a lot. Of course, he has issues. We just need to be here for him."

"If he doesn't get himself arrested or killed," Nasser replied cynically.

Math wanted to argue against that, but he knew from past experience what Ruo could do when driven by anger and hurt, most likely how he is right now. It had nearly pushed him to kill Grant Denim; although he stopped himself, the group hadn't forgotten what he had nearly done.

"Shouldn't we go after him too?" Pyrrha suggested.

"If anyone can find him here and quickly, it's Jinse," Math replied. "She knows him. Let's check for Huntsmen."

Everyone looked around at the mission logs, examining the Huntsmen who had gone off or returned. Sadly, they had no luck, so Saf took out her scroll and placed it on a terminal nearby.

"_Identity confirmed," _it replied. _"How can I be of service, Ms. Kendrick?" _

"Search for any missions that have been completed in the past three weeks," Saf instructed.

"_Searching…" _the terminal replied. _"Sorry. No missions in the past three weeks have been reported to be complete." _

"None?" Math gasped. "How could none of these Huntsmen have come back by now?"

"PYRRHA!" two voices cried out before Pyrrha was pushed to the ground by two powerful forces. When she collected herself, Pyrrha realized that she was being hugged by Nora Valkyrie and Ruby Rose.

"Nora! Ruby!" Pyrrha cheerfully replied before hugging them back. They hugged for several moments before the three girls got off the ground.

"Hey," Math greeted.

"Hey, guys," Ruby reciprocated before she and Nora hugged each of them happily.

"Where are the others?" Pyrrha asked, feeling relief that her team made it to Mistral.

"The others are back at the house," Nora answered. "But before we go, I need to ask you an EXTREMELY important question."

"What is it?" Pyrrha asked, feeling that it was urgent. Nora pulled Pyrrha's head close and looked her dead in the eye.

"Do you and Math have babies back home?"

"Nora!" Pyrrha scolded before pulling away from the hammer user.

"So you and Math have babies?" she asked again. When Math heard it this time, his entire face turned red from embarrassment. Considering that he and Pyrrha had indeed consummated their love, she could've become pregnant by now.

"Well, they will later~" Robin teased, putting his arm around his cousin.

"Hey, where's Ruo?" Ruby asked. "Yang will be excited to see him."

"Yang's here?" Robin asked, retracted his arm from Math. "Oh, great."

"What?" Ruby asked.

"We had a run-in with the Wild Hunt," Pyrrha answered. "Ruo's not himself. His mentor, Jinse, went looking for him."

"He ran off again!?" Ruby gasped.

"She'll find him," Math assured. "She knows where he's going."

He was doing his best to remain confident in Jinse, but his heart said otherwise. The last time Ruo ran off like that, he nearly killed a man out of rage and anger. Cassim, Nasser's deceased brother, had witnessed it, had been the one to call the police. It had nearly cost Ruo his future at Beacon and the trust of his teammates when he did what he had done.

"Well…if you want, we can bring you back to the house," Ruby offered. "Everyone'll want to see you guys."

"We'll stay for a little bit, then go find Ruo," Math responded.

"Okay," Nora agreed. "If you two need a room-"

"NORA!" Math and Pyrrha shouted as they started walking. The hammer user giggled at their reaction.

"We don't have babies yet- uh…" Math stumbled in his word as he realized what he just said.

"Not yet?" Robin asked in a teasing manner.

Pyrrha hid her face to hide the blood-red blush on her cheeks. To hear Math say 'have babies yet' was definitely fuel for Robin and Nora's teasing, but she honestly liked the idea of it. She had for a while.

-0-

Blake sat on the roof of her parent's home, resting her head on her arms and knees. She was frustrated, to say the least; even now, they still had no luck in recruiting help for the mission to defend Haven. The Faunus were convinced by Adam's message and were starting to share his view on Ghira being a coward who cared more about principles than the lives of his people.

Was her father really a coward for always choosing peaceful situations over fighting in self-defense? She didn't want to think that at all, despite everything. Ghira was many things, but a coward…absolutely not.

"Blake?" Akela addressed, walking up to her and sitting down. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," she answered solemnly. "How can we convince everyone…?" She sighed in frustration.

"I don't know what to do anymore," she admitted. "How can we defend Haven when everyone thinks Adam is right?" Akela gently wrapped his arm around her, slowly bringing her in for a hug.

"If Adam isn't stopped, then things will only get worse and worse until humanity decided to go back to the 'good ol' days', when we were nothing but slaves and animals to be hunted for sport."

"We'll think of something," Akela assured. "But getting the Faunus to defend Haven will take time."

"We don't have enough time anymore!" Blake cried out. "We've been convincing them for weeks and they still won't act! They're content with letting Haven be destroyed and only afterwards will they realize that they should've acted." A tear rolled down Blake's cheek.

Akela gently placed his hand on her cheek and used his thumb to wipe away her tear. Although she said didn't feel ready for relationships to Sun and didn't to lead the Wolf Faunus on, she needed comfort after everything. She slowly buried her face into Akela's neck, allowing him to hold her.

"We have to stop Adam," she whispered. "If we don't stop him, no one will."

"We'll think of something, Blake," he assured. "They can't turn a blind eye to his terrorism forever."

Blake snuggled up to Akela, nuzzling her face into him. She wanted to be held and comforted to deal with the overwhelming feeling of failure she had. Akela's arms were tight around her, perfect for helping her feel better.

Suddenly, she jerked away from him.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I shouldn't have done that."

"Why not?" Akela asked, not bothering to hide his feelings for Blake.

"Because…because of something I told Sun," she replied. "With everything that's happening, I don't know if I'm ready for relationships or not. I…I don't want to lead you on."

Akela wished he hadn't heard that, but considering everything that Blake realized about herself and the need to defend Haven, he felt she was right. She probably wasn't ready for intimate relationships since she had to resolve many of her issues.

"I understand, Blake," the Wolf responded. "If you ever change your mind-"

"Don't," she interrupted. "I can't make promises to either you or Sun. Don't wait for me."

"**ALERT! ALERT!" **

"Huh?" Blake wondered.

"Oh, no," Akela gasped. "Grimm!"

"Grimm!?" Blake asked in a shocked tone.

Screaming was heard from the docks as a large Grimm rose from the ocean. It possessed a serpentine look to it with great fangs, a long neck and clawed hands and legs. It let out a huge roar as it slashed at one of the wooden buildings, reducing it to splinters.

Ghira and Bhaal rushed out of the house to see the large Grimm descend onto Kuo-Kuana. The Bear Faunus immediately called out to his warriors, ordering them to mobilize and take down the Grimm.

"It's a Hydra!" Bhaal stated. "Aim for its chest!"

Akela and Blake rushed back inside to grab their weapons and then head to the docks, where the Hydra had already started smashing more buildings. By now, several White Fang had already appeared and opened fire on the Grimm.

"White Fang!" one of Bhaal's warriors called out. "What do we do about them?"

"Forget about them for now," Bhaal instructed. "The Grimm is our immediate target!"

Despite the White Fang's efforts, the Hydra continued to its rampage across the docks, smashing buildings and killing Faunus, which attracted another Hydra.

"Two Hydras?" Akela gasped as Sun finally appeared.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Grimm?"

"But why would they attack?" Blake wondered as they rushed to the docks. "There's not enough negativity here to attract Grimm of that size. Unless…"

"Look out!" Akela called as he pushed Blake out of the way of a thrown building that crashed onto the ground.

"How do we take them out?" Sun asked. "Cut their heads off?"

"No!" Blake replied. "If you cut their heads, they'll grow two more. We need to aim for their chests."

The White Fang continued firing at the Hydra's head as some of them broke off to shoot at the second one. As Bhaal's warriors joined the fray, they instead aimed for their chests. The first Hydra then brought its claw down on the dock, sending some of the White Fang and warriors into the water.

"Out of the water!" Ghira called out to them. Before they knew it, one of them was pulled underneath the waves by a Cocodril, dragging him away. The rest of them hurried out, but several of them were unfortunately caught by the Cocodrils and dragged to the depths of the ocean.

"Blake!" Ghira called out as he hurried to his daughter's side. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Blake assured.

"You, Sun and Akela need to get these people out of here," Ghira instructed. "Lead them to the safehouses."

"But we can help," Sun replied.

"Then help by getting these people to safety," the Menagerie Chieftain responded. Sun was about to speak against it, but Blake stopped him.

"We'll get them to safety," she assured her father.

"All civilians, to the safehouses!" Akela announced. The Faunus of Menagerie hurried away from the docks in Akela's direction to get away from the battle. Several Faunus leapt into the water, hoping to get to Akela faster.

"Get out of the water!" the Wolf shouted as he nocked an arrow and shot a Cocodril Grimm that emerged out of the water. Another one emerged and dug its teeth into another Faunus, dragging it away into the ocean.

"Stay out of the water!" Blake repeated. "There are Cocodrils in there!" Several of the Faunus who foolishly jumped in were dragged away by the Cocodrils. The rest stayed on the docks while Bhaal's warriors and the White Fang kept firing at the Hydra Grimm.

"Stay out of its range!" Ghira ordered. One of the White Fang ignored Ghira and drew his sword, then charged at the Grimm. It grabbed him in its claw, brought it to its mouth and bit off the upper half of his body before throwing his legs in the ocean.

"We need stronger weapons," Bhaal told Ghira. "Its armor is tougher than we thought." Ghira looked closer at the first Hydra and noticed an open area of flesh on its torso, near where the heart would be…if Grimm have hearts.

"There's a weak spot," Ghira told Bhaal, pointing to the open flesh area on the Hydra. Bhaal took out his axe-rifle and shot at the area, but nothing happened.

"We'll need something stronger," the Bear Faunus pointed out.

"What about the ballista?" one of Bhaal's warriors asked.

"Perfect!" Ghira answered. "Lure the Hydras where I can get a clear shot!"

"Will do," Bhaal assured.

By now, everyone was hurrying to the safehouses away from the battle, with Akela, Blake and Sun making sure no Grimm were following them. Akela and Sun stayed near the docks, ready to fend off any Grimm that may be after them while Blake led them to the entrances of the safehouses.

"Everyone in," she instructed. As they hurried into the safehouses, Blake looked back to the Hydras that were destroyed the docks of Kuo-Kuana.

What attracted them to Menagerie? Adam's message hadn't been able to generate much negativity in the three weeks since it was released. Something else had to be behind attracting these two Grimm to the island.

Just then, she saw Ilia Amitola on a house, overlooking the battle. She pulled out her scroll and took a picture of her while making sure it also showed her viewing the attack. When she saw Akela and Sun bring up the rear of the civilians, she leapt onto the rooftop of the nearest building and immediately chased after Ilia. The Chameleon took immediate notice of the Cat and made a run for it.

Ghira hurried to the ballista on the other side of docks as he knew Bhaal and his warriors wouldn't last long against the Hydras; plus, as long as the battle raged, they risked attracting more Grimm, possibly even another Hydra. He was now only a few more buildings away from the weapon he'd need to kill the beast.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Ghira looked back to see one of Bhaal's warriors torn apart by the jaws of the two Hydras and then ate his body. He doubled his speed to the ballista as he knew more warriors risked getting killed.

"There it is," he said as he finally got to it. It was a high vantage point, perfect for killing the Hydra's weak spot if he could get a clear shot. Instead of wasting time running up the stairs, Ghira climbed the wall, making distance by making long leaps up.

When he made it to the weapon, he quickly loaded a large arrow into the mechanism. He pointed at the Hydra, but didn't have a clear shot of its weak spot. He lowered his vision down towards the beast's chest where the weak spot was.

"Come on, come on," he spoke. All he needed was one clear shot and he could the first Hydra. He saw the weak spot…and fired.

The arrow fled like the wind before piercing the monster. It cried out in pain as its body was pierced by the arrow, raising its head up at the sky. After several moments, it stopped before it fell down sideways, destroying several more buildings and splashing into the water.

"That's one!" Ghira told himself. "Now we need to take down the other." He examined the second Hydra as it continued its assault on Kuo-Kuana. It had no weak spot like the previous Hydra, making Ghira think quick on how to deal with it. To test an idea, he loaded another arrow, this time filling it with Earth Dust, used his Aura to activate it and then launched it.

The Hydra's armor cracked from the arrow's impact, much to Ghira's relief. He had had to keep launching arrows until he created an opening and kill the Hydra.

Meanwhile, Blake continued chasing Ilia across the rooftops. She turned Gambol Shroud into a kusarigama and threw it at Ilia's feet, causing her to fall onto her face.

"The White Fang's behind this, isn't it?" she questioned, holding the ribbon of her weapon tightly. Ilia wouldn't answer, but Blake could tell that if she did, it'd be 'yes'.

"How can you honestly support this?" the Cat questioned. She saw a shadow descend on her; before she could react, a bat Faunus, Yuma, kicked Blake to the ground, allowing Ilia to remove her weapon from her legs. By the time she recovered, Yuma and Ilia were gone.

It didn't matter; Blake had gotten a photo of Ilia overlooking the battle, which could helpfully turn the public to their favor. However, if she was to prove that the White Fang was responsible for this attack, she'd need more evidence.

Ghira fired yet another arrow at the Hydra's armor, finally making an opening. When he reached another arrow, he realized that he was on his last one; if he missed, that Hydra would easily destroy the rest of Menagerie. He couldn't afford to miss this shot.

He loaded the arrow into the ballista and aimed at the Hydra, waiting for his moment to fire. Bhaal was certain to lure the Grimm to where he'd have a clean shot, which he saw as the Bear Faunus gained the Hydra's attention. In a splint second, the Hydra's weak spot was revealed.

Ghira fired and took down the beast as he did the previous Hydra. As it fell into the water dead, the warriors broke into cheer.

"Ghira did it!" Bhaal announced. "Ghira shot them dead with the ballista!" The warriors started chanting Ghira's name in honor of the victory won today while the White Fang members left.

"We won!" Akela told Sun as they had witnessed the death of the other Hydra. The two of them went over to the safehouses and let the civilians know it was safe; the Hydras were dead.

"Akela! Sun!" Blake called out as she leapt off a rooftop.

"Blake, what's wrong?" Akela asked.

"The White Fang was behind this attack," she revealed.

"What?" Sun asked. "How could they do that?"

"They must've projected enough negativity to attract them," the Belladonna assumed. "If we can prove the White Fang did this, we can turn the public against them."

"And convince them to help us defend Haven," Akela deduced. The chanting of Ghira's name could be heard from where the three warriors were. One of Bhaal's warriors were seen running up to the civilians as they exited the safehouses.

"What happened?" one of the civilians asked.

"Ghira killed the Hydras!" one of Bhaal's warriors. "Shot them dead with the ballista!"

Blake smiled and then turned her face to the citizens of Menagerie. Ghira's bravery today was sure to convince them that Adam was wrong about him, that he was not the coward he was painted as by the White Fang High Leader.

However, it may not be enough to convince Kuo-Kuana that letting Adam have his way was the right choice. If she could prove to the citizens that the White Fang was responsible for the attack today, it'd be the nail in the coffin for Adam's influence.

"We need to gather evidence," Blake told Akela and Sun.

"Let's do it," Sun agreed.

-0-

Qrow finally arrived at the Branwen Camp and changed back into his human form.

Yang told the truth: the camp had been destroyed by Cinder and her forces. Bodies littered the ground, some of which appeared to have been gnawed on by Grimm. The wooden walls were burnt, broken down and reduced to splinters.

"Dammit, Raven, I told you," Qrow said to himself.

Raven arrogantly overestimated herself; she believed that she could harbor a Maiden without Salem eventually finding out. She refused to listen to him when he warned her of what harboring a Maiden could bring.

As a result of her arrogance and pride, the Branwen Camp was destroyed. Many bandits were now dead, though Qrow didn't feel too bad since they were nothing but murderers and thieves.

The question remained, though: where is Raven? Qrow looked around in the hopes of finding a trail, but found nothing. He scoured the area as much as he could, but ultimately couldn't find anything that would lead him to Raven.

"Shit," he snarled. "I need to get back and let Oz know of what happened here." He shifted back into his bird form and flew off.

He was now fearing the worst for Haven. All of the Huntsmen he searched for were dead or missing. Professor Lionheart was suspected of working with Salem, which means she'd have access to so much information. Worst of all, the Spring Maiden was nowhere to be found and neither was Raven.

"We have to find the Maiden," Qrow thought to himself. "If Salem gets the Relic of Knowledge…"


	15. A Tense Reunion

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 15: A Tense Reunion**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Ruby and Nora walked through the streets of upper Mistral, leading Pyrrha, Saf and MRN to the house where they had been staying. On the way, they had informed them of everything that had been happening.

"So…Qrow was with you?" Math asked, showing his distrust for Ruby's uncle.

The reaper was about to speak out against the wolf swordsman's distrust, but she knew he had every right to doubt him. Odds are, he thought Qrow was content with forcing the Maiden powers on Pyrrha.

"Qrow helped us," Ruby stated. "He didn't support the idea of Ozpin forcing the Maiden powers on you."

"He didn't support it?" Math asked. "Are you sure?" Ruby turned around to make eye contact with the wolf swordsman.

"Look, Math, I know you don't trust Qrow after what happened, but I do," she firmly stated. "If he says he didn't support it, then I believe him."

"What about Ozpin?" Robin asked, much to Nora and Ruby's surprise. "Is he with you too?"

It became dead silent other than the natural noises of the outdoors. Nora and Ruby looked at each other with rather nervous looks before looking at Math and Pyrrha. Math's scowl was one of anger and contempt for the man who had betrayed his trust and lied to him, Pyrrha's was uncertainty of how to feel about seeing the man who had tried to force her into accepting the Maiden powers.

"He is," Nora spoke.

Math's hand tightened into a fist, harboring the anger from that night. If Ozpin was there...

"Here we are!" Ruby announced as she pointed to the front door of the house. Ruby opened it and walked in first, then Nora, then Pyrrha, then Saf, and finished by MRN.

"Guys!" she called out.

"What's going on?" Jaune asked as he appeared from the kitchen, looking down at his scroll. When he looked up, his eyes widened as he looked at Pyrrha.

The two didn't say anything as they looked at each other dead in the eyes. It was a mix of surprise of seeing each other again, uncertainty due to how they departed on bad terms, and almost not recognizing each other.

Pyrrha almost didn't recognize Jaune in his new armor white and gold armor. Instead of the loveable idiot many people had painted him as during their time at Beacon, he looked like a strong white knight. To Jaune, Pyrrha almost appeared like an angel who had come back to help them, who had overcome her injury to return to the fight.

"Hello, Jaune," she spoke, breaking the silence between them, though some tension was still in the air.

"Hey," he replied. "I'm…I'm glad you guys made it safely."

"It wasn't easy," Math commented. "It's good to see you again, Jaune."

"You too," the Arc reciprocated. Just then, movement was heard from upstairs; Yang, Weiss and Ren all appeared to see the group that had just come in.

"Guys!" Yang called out happily as she walked down the stairs, up to the group and exchanged hugs with each of them. Weiss and Ren came along to do the same thing, happy to see more of their friends again after not seeing them for a long time. Unfortunately, that feeling died when Yang noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's Ruo?" she asked and the feeling of happiness immediately vanished. Her question was met with silence, but she could tell by the looks on MRN's faces that something was up.

"Is he…not with you?" she asked.

"He came with us to Mistral," Math answered, some hints of fear in his tone. "After we ran into some Wild Hunters, Ruo…we don't know where he went." Yang's eyes widened as she processed this information.

"He did WHAT!?" she barked. "He ran off again!? Why didn't you go after him?"

"Yang, please calm down," Ruby insisted. The blonde brawler wanted to remain angry at this, but she knew she had to calm down as her sister said.

"We have no idea where he'd go," Nasser answered. "Luckily, Jinse's looking for him as we speak."

"Who's Jinse?" Weiss asked.

"Ruo's mentor," Robin answered. "If anyone knows where he's going, it's her. She'll contact us when she finds him."

Yang groaned before putting her hand on her face. She thought Ruo learned his lesson about running off to deal with his issues when he tried to murder Grant Denim. Instead, he had done the exact same thing again, leaving everyone worried sick and wondering if he was going to try something stupid again.

She blamed herself for this. She had pushed him away when she should've welcomed his help. She felt that if she had kept him close, she could've been there for him as he had for her.

"What's going on?" another voice asked, one foreign to the newcomers. They looked past their friends to see a young boy with tanned skin, black hair, maple eyes and was shorter than Ruby. His clothing was poor and dirty, indicating that he was probably a farmer from outside the kingdoms.

"Who is he?" Nasser asked.

"This is Oscar Pine," Ruby introduced.

"_Oscar, please let me take over," _Ozpin insisted. Oscar closed his eyes, much to everyone's confusion. When they opened up, they glowed, indicating something they didn't have the faintest idea about.

"_Hello, Mr. Kendrick, Ms. Nikos," _Ozpin greeted.

Dead silence. Math and Pyrrha's eyes widened at the sight of Ozpin, especially in the body of a young boy. They were frozen like statues, conflicting on how to react to this. Everyone else's was no different; that were not prepared to meet Ozpin again so soon.

"Professor…Ozpin?" Robin asked.

"Yeah," Qrow stated as he walked in the house. "When did you get here?"

"_They just arrived," _Ozpin informed. _"What happened-?" _

Ozpin was suddenly slammed into the wall, caused by a great impact. When he recollected himself, he saw the image of Math with a scowl of unrestrained anger and hatred in his scowl, an expression that made a Grimm look like a cheap jumpscare. His hand was balled into a fist and was pointing in Ozpin's direction.

"You…MISERABLE BASTARD!" the wolf swordsman roared.

"_Why is he so angry?" _Oscar asked. Before Ozpin could answer, Math stomped over to him and grabbed his shirt angrily.

"You selfish, lying piece of shit! How dare you do what you did to Pyrrha!"

"Whoa, whoa, kid…" Qrow tried to calm him, but was met with Math pointing his blade at the scythe user.

"Don't you DARE defend him after what he did!" he threatened. "He used us! He sent my team and I on a mission we weren't ready for, one that nearly got us killed! And you-"

"Math!" Saf called out as she approached him and put her hand on his arm holding Dochas-Mhadaidh. The sight of his sister with a concerned look on her face was luckily enough to snap Math out of his angered state as he sheathed his sword.

"_Mr. Kendrick, please let me explain-" _

"No," Math refused. "There is NO justification for what you did. None!"

"_Mr. Kendrick, you don't understand-" _

"No, you don't understand! You don't get to treat us like expendable pawns! You don't get to lie and manipulate us just so you can do things your way!"

"Kid, let him go," Qrow demanded as he put his hand on Harbinger's hilt, ready to strike if necessary.

"Math," Saf insisted. The wolf swordsman paused for a few moments before deciding to concede and release Ozpin.

"_I didn't expect to see you here," _the former Beacon Headmaster replied. He paused as he made eye contact with Pyrrha Nikos, the same girl who he had wronged the night Beacon fell. The redhead Amazon slowly walked up to him, each one making Ozpin a bit nervous on what she'd do; if she wanted, she could easily kill him for what he did.

Instead, when she approached him, Pyrrha stood there. Her scowl was near impossible to read; Ozpin couldn't tell if she was anxious, angry, sad, disdained or all of those emotions. She glared at him and he looked back, feeling some anxiety to her reaction build up as the room was completely silent.

"Why?" she demanded in a stern tone. "Why did you lie to us?" Ozpin looked down, contemplating his answer to the Invincible Girl.

"Answer me." Pyrrha's voice was calm, but everyone could sense the anger in her tone at Ozpin.

"_I was desperate,"_ he answered. _"The Fall Maiden's powers…I couldn't…" _

"Why didn't you tell us about Salem? The war? Everything we needed to know, we only found out from Glaucus. Now tell me: why did you lie!?"

Almost everyone was taken back by Pyrrha's venomous outburst towards Ozpin. She rarely showed such anger towards a person; the only time she ever had was when Jaune was hanging out with Cardin.

"_I…I needed you to take the Maiden powers," _Ozpin continued. _"I felt…only you could be trusted with them. I didn't…I didn't tell you or Mr. Kendrick about Salem because…because I was afraid you'd refuse." _

Pyrrha didn't reply, but didn't drop her stern and angered scowl. Ozpin was becoming more unsettled by how the Amazon was acting towards him, even after he admitted his desperation and why he had lied.

Slap.

Ozpin sensed a sharp pain on his right cheek, like a sting. He moved his head to see Pyrrha's hand flat and in the air. She had slapped him.

"_I deserved that," _he admitted.

"That's not even close to what you deserve," she venomously stated. "First, you lie and manipulate me. Then, you force something on me you said I'd choose whether to have them or not and now you justify it?" Ozpin sighed.

"_It was never my intention to do what I did," _he admitted. _"It's cost me the trust of many of the students here." _

"How are we supposed to know you won't pull a stunt like that again?" Math demanded.

"Guys…" Qrow spoke, but was cut off by the scowls of Math and Pyrrha. Their faces said specifically 'choose your next words very carefully'. The alcoholic veteran thought over what to say so as to defuse the situation.

"You're right," he stated, causing the two of them to soften their expressions. "We shouldn't have lied to you. We shouldn't have kept you in the dark."

"It's good to hear it from you," Pyrrha answered before turning her attention back to Ozpin. "But I also need to hear it from him."

"_Ms. Nikos," _Ozpin started to answer. _"You're right. I've wronged you and all of your friends, especially MRRN. If…if you choose to leave, then we won't blame you." _

"No," Pyrrha answered firmly, much to everyone's surprise.

"What?" Math asked. "You...you're serious?"

"As much as I distrust Ozpin, Salem is the greater evil," the redhead responded. "We need to stand together to stop her or Haven will meet the same fate. We've seen what happens when she wins; we cannot allow it to happen again." She looked back at Ozpin once again.

"This doesn't mean I forgive you, Ozpin; what you did was wrong and it will be a long time before I trust or forgive you."

"_I…I understand," _Ozpin responded.

"Do you now?" Math questioned, not bothering to hide his hostility towards a man he once respected.

"Kid, back off," Qrow demanded of the wolf swordsman. "I get you're mad at Ozpin and I don't approve of what he did either, but you're not going to stoop to harassing him."

"Piss off," Math growled. "How are you not even questioning-?"

"Everyone, please!" Ruby called out and jumping between Mathdon and Qrow. "Now's not the time to fight each other." The wolf and the crow glared at each other before backing off.

"_Did you find Spring?" _Ozpin asked, hoping to ease the tension by focusing on the immediate task.

"No," Qrow answered. "The whole camp was destroyed and I couldn't find Raven's trail."

"_This isn't good," _Ozpin remarked.

"What are you two talking about?" Saf asked.

"The Spring Maiden was with my biological mom, Raven Branwen," Yang explained. "I had gone there to convince her to transport me to Ruby. Before we left, the camp was attacked by Cinder and her cronies."

"Cinder?" Pyrrha asked, resisting the urge to let her hatred for the she-devil rise. "She was there?"

"She was," Weiss confirmed. "She was ordered by Salem to bring the Spring Maiden to Haven and unlock the Vault."

"That's suicide," Nasser responded. "They seriously expect to just waltz into Haven like nothing?"

"They could if they wanted," Qrow bitterly responded. "Leo's left the Relic completely unguarded."

"What?" Pyrrha gasped.

"We think…we think he may be working for Salem," Jaune brought up. "Qrow only shared the coordinates of Raven's camp with him, meaning he could've turned them over to her."

"_But we lack the evidence needed to prove it," _Ozpin brought up. _"We need to be absolutely certain if he did indeed hand over the coordinates to Salem or someone hacked Haven's records." _

"I'll worry about that later," Math responded. "Right now, Ruo is missing and we need to find him."

"We're coming with you," Yang stated. "Any idea where he went?"

"None," Math responded. As the group walked out, Math stopped Ozpin by grabbing his shirt.

"Listen to me carefully," he snarled. "The chance of me beating you to a bloody pulp hangs by a thread. Do what you did to Pyrrha to any of us and I will make your life a living hell."

"Math," Qrow told the swordsman before grabbing his arm and pulling it away from Ozpin. "Knock it off."

The wolf swordsman glared at Qrow before leaving to join up with his friends in finding Ruo.

-0-

Oren, Aria and Luna made their way to the hospital, approaching the front door and opening it as the two militiamen carried their leader, Silvio, on a stretcher. When the receptionist looked up, her eyes widened.

"Is that Silvio Steel?" she asked. "What happened?"

"We were attacked," Aria answered. "He's lost a lot of blood. He needs immediate medical attention."

"I'll call the…" the receptionist stopped as she looked outside the glass doors in horror. Everyone looked back to see Wild Hunters, numbering about two dozen, standing outside the door with weapons, obviously ready to start violence.

Oren caught sight of several of them holding blades, causing him to freeze and hyperventilate. Luckily, Luna snapped him out of it before he was completely frozen by fear.

"Get him to an emergency room," Oren ordered. "We'll take care of them." The three present members of COAL prepared their weapons and stepped outside to confront the radical racists.

"Where is the traitor, Silvio Steel?" one of them questioned.

"You only call him a traitor because he doesn't buy Darren Moss's bullshit," Luna responded.

"He is a traitor who helps the same species who destroyed Beacon!" the leader of the small group. "You Faunus victimize innocent people!"

"Victimize!?" Oren growled. "When the train was attacked, your scum brethren murdered Faunus instead of defending innocent people!"

"You ARE the monsters!" the same Wild Hunter shouted, refusing to acknowledge their hypocrisy. "We will kill you and anyone who supports you! Now give us Silvio!"

"No," Luna refused, pointing one of her shotguns at the Wild Hunter.

"Give us the traitor," he demanded again.

"You call him a traitor because he's not a racist, selfish hypocrite like your leader," Oren responded. "If Darren Moss wants justice for those victimized by the Fall of Beacon, why does he attack anyone who refuses to share his views? Why does he attack the same species he claims to protect?"

"They're traitors to our species, just like Silvio! Give him to us now or we'll slaughter you and take him by force!" Luna smiled sadistically as she summoned several white spectral wolves and set them on the leader, mauling him. Even after he was dead, they still tore at his body.

"Luna, stop!" Oren demanded. Luna looked over to Oren before realizing she got carried away in her sadistic killing of the Wild Hunt.

"Leave or you'll suffer the same fate he did," she warned as the wolves disappeared.

"Murderer!" one of the Wild Hunt shouted before they attacked.

Oren raised his shield up to block the blade of his first attacker, then kicked at his feet to knock him to the ground. Two more charged at him, both of them striking at his shield several times, which they unknowingly allowed him to use his Semblance as he absorbed the energy behind each attack.

His shield lit up with a faint orange light, making the assailants nervous. Oren swung his shield and unleashed a great blast of energy, knocking them back along with several other Wild Hunt.

Aria wrapped her chained sword around the ankle of an attacker, then threw him into the ground behind her and then into two more Wild Hunt. One of them was about to shoot a gun at her, but she quickly spun her chain around and launched an Ice Dust dagger from her sword at at the gun, freezing it up in ice.

Luna dug one of her kamas into a Wild Hunter before using the other to rip his leg off. She then crossed them to block an incoming axe attack before using her weapons to pull the weapon away. She stumbled back when she felt a gunshot on her stomach, her white Aura shimmering from the impact.

"So that's how you want to be?" she growled before combining her two kamas together to create a polearm-like weapon. She leapt forward and twirled it, knocking three Wild Hunt back with ease.

"Ah!" Aria cried out as she was hit with a shotgun blast, immediately gaining Luna's attention as three Wild Hunt charged at her.

"Aria!" she called out before slashing at another Wild Hunt. She then summoned three white spectral wolves and set them on the Wild Hunt rushing to Aria. They pounced onto them and bit at them, causing them to scream in pain.

Oren blocked the axe of a much stronger attacker, which forced him onto his knees. He looked at his crest shield, noticing the end of it was in a perfect position to pull out his Butterfly blades and impale it into the attacker. The Lynx reached for the trigger that would bring them, but hesitated.

"_Give me your money!" a burglar demanded, holding a knife to the Faunus clerk's throat. _

"_I don't have any!" she claimed. "I don't have access to the bank!" _

"_Fine!" the burglar growled before preparing to slit her throat. _

"_No!" a 13-year-old Oren cried out as he grabbed the burglar's hand and pulled it away from the clerk. The two fought for control of the knife, bumping into the racks and knocking over anything they were pushed into. _

"_You're going to regret that, kid," the burglar snarled. He pushed Oren against the wall and put all of his strength into pushing the knife at him. The Lynx moved, causing the burglar to hit the wall instead. He slashed at Oren once more, who grabbed the man's hand and pushed the knife away…into the intruder's neck. _

_The burglar gurgled and gagged as he tried to pull the knife out. All Oren could do was stand frozen with fear as his hands were drenched in the burglar's blood; he could even bring himself to pull the knife out before the man bled to death. _

Oren didn't bring out the Butterfly blades and instead absorbed the energy of the axe's next attack before unleashing it in a less powerful blast than before. The Lynx then delivered a barrage of punches and shield bashes on the axe user before finally knocking him down.

A sudden rush of gold knocked several of the Wild Hunters back. The fanatics were taken back by this, but Oren, Aria and Luna immediately knew who it was.

"Gaspar Dorado!" one of the Wild Hunt addressed. "Why are you helping the traitor?"

"Because Darren Moss is wrong!" Gaspar shouted. "I used to think like him before I had some sense knocked into me. This whole Wild Hunt thing, him pointing the blame on the Faunus…it doesn't benefit anyone but himself."

"What do you know of our leader?" one of the Wild Hunt questioned.

"Only that he sees this as a chance to make things into the way they were," the Dorado responded. "He wants Faunus to not be regarded as citizens, only as slaves as they were before. He's using the Fall of Beacon as a rallying call to hide what he really wants: himself on top, just like Jacques Schnee."

"You're a traitor!" a Wild Hunter shouted before shooting at Gaspar. He used his Gold Rush to dodge the bullet before using it again to strike the gun out of the Wild Hunt's hand and then kicking him.

"No," he exclaimed. "You are the traitors, for slaughtering your own people!"

By now, the tables had turned on the Wild Hunt; they were no match for the might of the four Huntsmen. They were left with no choice but to retreat, leaving behind the bodies of their deceased or beaten comrades.

"What happened here?" Gaspar asked as he sheathed Conquistador.

"They found out that we brought Silvio here," Aria informed. "They demanded we turn him over to them or they'd kill us, which was a very stupid move."

"You're blunt as ever, Aria," Luna teased as he retracted her scythes, Lunar Diviner. "I can't wait to tear that selfish asshole to pieces for all he's done."

"I agree," Oren replied as he put his shield, Rouge Paragon, on his back. "He's using his power to oppress people when he claims to use it to protect. He doesn't deserve the gifts he has."

"He'll pay one day," Gaspar assured.

"He may not," Aria bluntly responded. "Darren Moss is scum, but he's high society like Silvio's family. He may not have the resources and wealth Silvio does, but he still has enough to keep himself out of trouble. Plus, with the incoming attack on Haven, we can't focus all of our efforts on him."

"This sucks," Luna growled, hating what Aria said, but knowing she was right. Darren Moss had enough resources to keep himself out of trouble; the only thing that could render all of his ways of staying out of jail moot would be is if he worked with the Iron Knights, since he wouldn't be caught dead helping the White Fang.

"We need to go check on Silvio," Oren told the group, prompting them to head inside.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"What was that?" Gaspar gasped as the gunshots came from inside the hospital.

"Dammit, they were distracting us!" Luna exclaimed. "Silvio's in trouble!" She summoned one of her spectral wolves and sent it to find the location of the gunshots as they followed it. The wolf led them upstairs to the west wing of the hospital, where the two militiamen who were guarding Silvio were found dead.

"Oh no," Oren spoke. "If they kill Silvio-"

"They won't," Luna interrupted as she pulled out Lunar Diviner, then instructed the spectral wolf to find her boyfriend. It led the group to a nearby room where blood was on the wall, right above where a Wild Hunter was lying down.

"The militia are dead," Aria stated. "If they didn't kill him, who did?"

"You took your time," Silvio replied weakly as he leaned against the doorframe, holding a handgun in his left hand as his other was holding his wound.

"Silvie!" Luna gasped as she hurried over to him and helped him sit down. "What happened?"

"Wild Hunt snuck in while you were dealing with the others," Silvio explained. "I woke up when I heard the gunshots, so I grabbed my gun and shot the Wild Hunt dead. But they have something now." He took out a scroll and played a video of Luna's wolves mauling the first Wild Hunter to death and tearing at his body even after he was killed.

"Luna, Darren Moss will use that against us," Silvio replied. "He'll paint it so that you attacked them unprovoked."

"Technically, she was the one who attacked first," Aria replied, much to Luna's shock.

"This isn't my fault," she replied. "They came looking for a fight. They would've attacked us anyway."

"But we can use this against them," Gaspar suggested.

"Silvio's family has a lot of resources in Mistral. Darren Moss trying to kill him would be a huge blow to peoples' opinion of him. How would they react to him trying to have a member of the Steel family killed, who are widely well-regarded in Mistral?"

"He has a point," Oren agreed. "Your family's reputation is near stainless; many people in Mistral admire you. If we reveal that Darren Moss tried to have you killed, that will weaken his support."

"That's a good play," Silvio agreed. "But we'll need witnesses to confirm it. Luckily, a doctor witnessed it all; go find him and get him to tell what happened here. We need to turn the public against Darren before he can turn them against us."

"Got it," Gaspar replied. He, Aria and Oren left the room, leaving Luna and Silvio by themselves.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Feeling okay," he answered. "I'll feel better when I get the treatment I need."

"After you do…" Luna looked at him seductively, her red eyes saying everything she'd want to do with Silvio after he recovered.

"Luna, I love you, but-"

"But?" she asked, pecking his lips. "You didn't complain when we did it before."

"It's not that," he replied. "Haven is in danger. We cannot afford to let it be destroyed."

"And we'll stop them," Luna assured. "But who said we can't have fun off duty?" Silvio chuckled and kissed Luna on her lips.

"I love you, babe," he responded.

"I love you too, Silvie," she told him before moving her mouth to bite on his neck.

"Ah," Silvio groaned. "Not now, please."

"Okay, sorry," she apologized. "But don't complain when I do it after you recover."


	16. Suffering Together

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 16: Suffering Together**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

This is where it had all started. The location where his life changed forever.

Ruo's former home had been left to fall apart. The walls looked just about ready to fall apart, the roof already had several large holes where parts of it had fallen, and the shrubbery made it look like it was a jungle instead of a home, a complete contrast to the beautiful and welcoming home he once lived in.

The White Tiger was about to kneel down, barely able to look at the house where he suffered a great injustice, but he forced himself to stand up. He slowly walked up to the house and opened the door, making loud creaks as it revealed the interior.

"Mom…Dad…"

Ruo walked around, memories flooding in from before the terrible night Grant Denim killed his father and let his mother pay the price. He remembered his mom reading him bedtime stories as a young child, showing him some martial arts, and enjoying her world famous sushi.

His father would take him outside to play ball with him. When Ruo saw Guiren working on his doctor's work, he would explain how he wanted to help people by saving them.

Was that all nothing but selfishness? How could his father refuse to help a young girl in need? How?

"Why, Dad?" he asked as he slowly walked up the stairs to what used to be his parents' bedroom. Something that immediately caught his attention was a paper letter on the nightstand. He walked over to it and picked it up to read it.

"_You can't do this to me, Guiren! I need the money! Yes, I know I messed up, but I have a daughter to take care of! You can't fire me! Please, I'll do whatever you need me too: community service, cleaning the hospital, overtime. I cannot afford to lose this job!"_

Ruo raised an eyebrow. He knew right away that it was Grant due to the mention of his daughter, so he wondered what he was talking about. Why would Guiren fire him? What was truly going on?

He saw another letter on the desk where Guiren often did paperwork. He believed it might hold some answers to what happened, so he slowly grabbed it and opened it.

"_Mr. Denim, _

_You've already been suspended twice for drinking on the job. You were caught stealing money from the hospital so you can waste it on alcohol. You barely see your daughter anymore since I spoke with your girlfriend and she says you haven't spoken to her in months. You were given multiple chances to clean up your act and I was very generous with you, especially when I gave half of my check once…now I realize that was a mistake. You put yourself in this position and now you must suffer the consequences." _

Ruo gripped the paper tightly with some anger starting to boil up in his blood. Grant claimed that Guiren refused to help his daughter, therefore violating his Hippocratic oath.

These letters revealed that it was not the case. Instead, Grant allowed his alcoholism to ruin his career and had stolen money from the hospital to feed his selfish need for drink. He hadn't seen his daughter in months, meaning that he was most likely very negligent during that time.

The White Tiger looked around and examined the medical equipment his father had kept on hand; none of it was touched, especially considering the dust that had collected on it. None of it appeared to have been touched in years, even before that awful night.

Ruo then noticed something: the safe where Guiren kept most of his money was left ajar and several Lien were scattered around the floor. He walked over to the safe to examine it and noticed that it had been busted open.

The White Tiger started to snarl, his hands gripping the closet door tightly as his anger started to surface. Grant Denim didn't try to steal equipment, he was trying to stela his father's money. He didn't steal anything to save his daughter, he stole only to feed his selfish habit. This wasn't desperation…this was selfishness.

"Grant Denim, you LIAR!" Ruo roared as he grabbed the safe and threw it across the room, breaking the bed easily due to its lack of support. His breathing almost sounded like a predator who wanted blood. His eyes were filled with unbelievable rage and anger at the man who ruined his life.

"You lied to me, to my FACE!" he roared as he punched a hole in the wall.

"Everything you said was a lie! My father didn't refuse to help you, he fired you because of your alcoholism! You didn't give a damn about your daughter! I should've killed you when I had the chance!"

"Ruo!" Jinse called out from outside. The White Tiger left the room, walked down the stairs and towards the entrance, where his mother figure stood before him.

"It was all a lie," Ruo revealed.

"What are you talking about?" Jinse questioned.

"Grant Denim lied to me. He didn't rob my home to save his daughter; he did it to steal money for his alcoholism."

"What?" Jinse gasped at this horrible revelation for her student.

"Grant was stealing money from the hospital and using it to buy alcohol. He hadn't seen his daughter in months during that time, even though he claimed he had to take care of her. All this thinking that my father was a horrible man…IT WAS ALL A LIE!" His knees gave out as he allowed himself to fall to the ground on his hands.

"I spared his life for nothing."

"You spared him because you would've gone down the same path your mother did," Jinse stated. "You could've gone down a violent path like the White Fang."

"Maybe the White Fang is right," Ruo barked, rising to his feet in anger. "Maybe humanity is incapable of showing us kindness willingly."

"What?" Jinse sternly responded. "You cannot be seriously saying that. You're going to justify their violence, their terrorism? You've seen what it has caused."

"It caused humanity to show its true colors. It showed that whenever faced with a problem like this, they always push the blame onto the minority, onto those who are prejudiced and discriminated against. The Wild Hunt know that only the White Fang destroyed Beacon and yet they blame all Faunus."

"As you're now blaming all humanity," Jinse pointed out. "What about Mathdon? Robin? Yang? Did they not show you kindness despite you being a Faunus?"

"They did," the Tiger acknowledged. "But people like them aren't the problem; it's narrow-minded and selfish people like Darren Moss and Jacques Schnee that push humanity to treat us like animals, to see us as perpetrators despite being the victims. Why is it so hard for humanity to accept those who are different? When do I get justice for my parents?!"

His eyes turned red as tears filled them up and fell onto his rear to sit down. He was tired of everything; losing Beacon, being pushed away from the woman he loved, having to come back to Mistral…it piled up on him and he could no longer hold it together.

"I understand your pain, Ruo," she responded.

"What do you know?" he growled. "You never lived in the kingdoms."

"I did for a time," the lioness corrected. "I said I knew your parents, remember?" Ruo wiped a tear from his face and nodded his head in acknowledgement. The lioness then sat down next to him as she prepared to explain.

"I lived here in Mistral for a time. I was friends with Lihua and Guiren, your parents. I was there when you were first conceived by them; they were so excited to have you. I knew that feeling when I had my own child." Ruo raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You…you had a child?"

"His name was Jhin Mu Shi. His father died when he went outside the kingdom to kill Grimm near the borders. If he was…still alive, he'd be in his twenties now."

"What happened to him?" Jinse sighed heavily as she remembered the troubled memories surrounding her son.

"Jhin became badly ill. At first, it was just vomiting, so I did the normal remedies; carbonated drinks, keeping a bag on hand…after the first day, it only got worse. Your father was out of the kingdom at the time, so I called the clinic and asked for an appointment. When I got there…"

"_Leave!" the head doctor demanded, pushing Jinse and Jhin out of the building. _

"_Sir, he needs medical attention," a nurse brought up. "We saw his condition. He needs help." _

"_We help people, not animals," the doctor refused. _

"_My son could be dying!" Jinse shouted. "Please, you need to help him. My husband saved your life years ago." _

"_It was his duty," the doctor replied, showing no gratitude whatsoever. "I owe him nothing." _

"_Sir," the nurse addressed. "If you won't help him, then I-" _

"_You will not!" the doctor barked. "We take care of people, not animals. You will not help them if you wish to keep your job." _

"_We're not animals!" Jinse responded. "We are living beings like you. We don't deserve to be treated like this just because we're different." The doctor smacked Jinse across the face. _

"_Get out or I'm calling the police," he warned. "I won't waste a single bit of my time on a Faunus." _

"After that, I called several other clinics, but the doctor from the previous one had made up a false story that I was lying to try and steal money. My only option was to contact your father. By the time I could…it was too late. Jhin died in his sleep."

Ruo's expression was one of complete surprise and shock at what happened. Just like him, she had suffered; she had lost family due to injustice and discrimination against their species. Her eyes were starting to water as she remembered that horrible morning.

"_Jhin?" she asked, nudging his shoulder as he laid asleep in his bed. He didn't move. _

"_Jhin?" she addressed once more. He still wouldn't move. _

_She was starting to get anxious. She wasn't hearing any breathing nor was he responding at all. Hesitantly, she checked his pulse; her eyes widened in horror. _

"_No…no…no," she silently spoke, covering her mouth with her hands. She shakily reached out and touched Jhin's hair, still hoping that he would move. Sadly, he didn't do anything. _

"_Jhin…" she cried quietly as she slowly wrapped her arms around him and held him against her. _

_Jhin was dead. _

"I…Jinse…" Ruo tried to talk, but failed.

"I left the kingdoms after I buried my son because I couldn't stand the prejudice anymore. My son died because human doctors refused to help us." She put her hand on Ruo's shoulder.

"I know what it's like to want to give into anger, into rage and you want something to target that anger onto. I felt that way about humanity for a long time because of what happened to my son; in fact, I almost considered joining the White Fang when they turned to terrorism."

"Why didn't you?" Ruo asked.

"Because paying hatred onto hatred doesn't stop the cycle," Jinse answered. "All it does is keep it going. Sienna foolishly thought that through needless killing and violence that humanity would come to respect us, but all it's done is make things worse for the Faunus. People like Darren Moss, Jacques Schnee…and Grant Denim deserve to face justice for their crimes against us, but not like this, not through hatred. That was what drove your mother to brutality and it could've done the same to you if you had killed Grant."

She was right. Ruo wouldn't have killed Grant out of justice, it would've been out of revenge. He could've easily gone down the road his mother took when she joined the White Fang. He could've become consumed with hatred, anger and the desire to make others feel his pain.

"Stop running, Ruo," Jinse insisted. "We both ran away from our pasts, but we can't anymore. How can we move onto the future when we're too stuck in the past?"

"What are you saying?" the Tiger asked.

"Let go of your hatred. Denim, Moss and Schnee will one day face judgment for their crimes; even if it's not in this life, they'll certainly be judged in the next." She wrapped her arms around Ruo and brought him in for a hug. He slowly returned the embrace as he contemplated his mentor's words.

Paying hatred onto hatred wouldn't end the cycle of violence between humans and Faunus. Instead, all it'd do is cause it to continue and make everyone think that humanity and Faunus are incapable of coexisting.

"Ruo!" a voice cried out, belonging to Math as he approached with Robin, Ruby, Safirlas…and Yang.

"Yang?" he asked as she stood up. The yellow dragon slowly walked up to him; when she was up to him, it was unsure of what she'd do. Ruo thought she'd punch him for running off in Mistral or show some hints of anger.

Yang slowly wrapped his arms around him and hugged him. Ruo looked at Yang for a moment before wrapping his own arms around her.

"I'm sorry, Ruo," she apologized.

-0-

"What is the meaning of this?" Glaucus demanded as he stood with Leo in his office. "Why would you leave Haven completely defenseless!?"

"I don't have a choice," Leonardo barked. "The Council controls all Huntsmen in Mistral. We're in a state of emergency considering everything that's happened. The Wild Hunt, the Iron Knights-"

"Talk to the Council," Glaucus demanded. "Haven will be attacked in less than two weeks. We must pull whatever Huntsmen we have left to here. If the Relic falls into Salem's hands, the consequences will be very disastrous."

"I know perfectly well," Lionheart responded. "But the Council won't listen to me. Anything I say will fall upon deaf ears."

"Haven will be destroyed if we don't defend it," Glaucus reminded the Haven Headmaster. "The Council must listen to you if you say Haven is under attack."

"My hands are tied," Leo claimed. "There's nothing I can do. I'm sorry."

"What is with you, Leo?" the Gray Wanderer questioned. "I just told you that Haven is in danger and you will do nothing to defend it? To defend the Relic? You and I both know what will happen if Salem wins."

"I know perfectly well," Lionheart replied. "The Council won't listen to me. Like it or not, we're on our own."

"Are there any Huntsmen in Mistral you know of?" Glaucus asked. "If there are any-"

"There aren't, not that I know of," Leo responded hastily.

The Gray Wanderer was a bit suspicious of how quickly Leo answered the question, to state that there are no Huntsmen in Mistral. He couldn't help but grow more suspicious of the Haven Headmaster by the minute.

From what he had learned, Leo had left the Relic completely defenseless, making it ripe for Salem to take it should she wish. He wouldn't speak to the Council about the attack on Haven, claiming they wouldn't listen to him. He was quick to claim that there were no Huntsmen in Mistral who could help them.

"What's going on, Leo?" he asked once more. "You know perfectly well what needs to be done. The Relic must be protected."

"I'm doing what I can!" Leo barked, rising from his seat. "Mistral is in shambles. I've been trying to convince the Council that I need Huntsmen to defend Haven, but they won't listen to me."

"Why would they disregard your warning?" Glaucus asked. "Why would they blatantly disregard Haven's security?"

"Because our borders were under attack," Leo answered with some hesitation in his response. "With everything that's going, we cannot afford to leave them unprotected."

"Then get whatever support you can!" Glaucus demanded. "There is too much at stake to stand by and do nothing!"

"I've had enough!" the Haven Headmaster exclaimed. "If all you're going to do is come here and berate me, then you need to leave."

"I came here to warn you about the attack," the veteran Huntsmen replied. "The Relic of Knowledge must not be lost. But it's become clear you will not help us."

"I tried," Leo lied. "I truly did try." Glaucus didn't say anything as he left the Headmaster's office, not bothering to hide his disappointment. Exiting the Grand Hall, Glaucus was greeted by Cole Stone.

"Well?" the leader of Team COAL asked.

"Lionheart won't help us," Glaucus solemnly informed. "He claims the Council disregarded his requests to protect Haven."

"What?" Cole questioned. "That's nonsense. The Council would never disregard the need to protect the Academies, even if they dislike Professor Lionheart."

"Indeed," Glaucus agreed. "Which means something is terribly wrong. Did you manage to contact the rest of the Bushi militia?"

"I did," Cole replied. "We've instructed any available militia to return at once."

"I take it some had to stay to defend vital parts of Mistral territory?" Glaucus asked.

"Yes," Cole answered. Just then, Cole's scroll rung as did Glaucus's. They both picked up their scrolls and walked away so they wouldn't talk over each other.

"Hello?" Glaucus greeted.

"_Hey," _Math greeted. _"I've some good news and some bad news." _

"What's the bad news?" Glaucus asked, preferring to get it over with.

"_We checked the Huntsmen Mission Area and no Huntsmen have returned from their missions," _Math informed. _"They're reported dead or missing." _

"And the good news?"

"_We found some help. Qrow, Ruby and our friends made it here to Mistral…along with Ozpin." _

Glaucus could sense the hostility in Math's voice when he said that name. He couldn't blame him after what he did.

"_They have a house in upper Mistral. They already spoke with Professor Lionheart-" _

"Wait, they spoke with Lionheart?" Glaucus interrupted.

"_Yes, they did," _Math confirmed. _"They'll explain it more later." _

"Text me the address," Glaucus requested. "I'll meet you there."

"_Okay," _Math replied. _"See you." _He then hung up.

Now something was seriously wrong; Leo straight up lied to him. He claimed that he didn't know of any Huntsmen in the city, yet he had met Qrow earlier before they did. This needed looking into.

"Hey," Cole greeted on his scroll.

"_Hey, Cole," _Oren responded. _"Did you manage to contact the militia?" _

"I did," he confirmed. "How's Silvio? Is he okay?"

"_The Wild Hunt attacked us," _Oren revealed. _"While we were fighting, several of them tried to kill Silvio." _

"What? Is he okay?"

"_He's fine. But the Wild Hunt recorded Luna killing one of their members with her spectral wolves." _Cole sighed.

"Luna needs to keep her sadism in check for these very reasons."

"_She does. However, we can also use this situation to make Moss lose support. He tried to murder a member of one of Mistral's most respected families; people won't take this well and he won't be able to talk his way out of it, especially with the doctor willing to confirm what happened." _

"This could be a break we need," Cole agreed. "With everything going on, we don't need Darren making things harder for us than they already are."

"_Hey," _Luna greeted. _"I'm guessing Oren already told you about what happened at the hospital." _

"And the video," Cole groaned. "Luna, you need to keep your sadism in check. You can't just take your time killing your enemies or this kind of thing happens."

"_They were going to attack either way," _the sadistic wolf replied. _"They wanted to kill Silvio." _

"I know, but now they have something that can be used against the Faunus," Cole stated. "We need to move against Darren before he moves against us."

"_Will do," Oren assured. "We're taking Silvio back to his house after he gets treated." _

"I'll see you there," Cole responded before hanging up and walking over to Glaucus.

"It's worse than I thought," the Gray Wanderer admitted. "No Huntsmen have returned from their missions, though Math did find some of our friends in the city."

"Well, at least we got some good news," Cole replied. "We may be able to cripple the Wild Hunt's leader."

"How so?"

"The Wild Hunt attacked Silvio while he was in the hospital; they tried to kill him. He comes from one of Mistral's most respected families; revealing this information to the public would cripple Darren's support."

"That's good," Glaucus agreed. "We don't need him making things harder for us."

"What will you do?" Cole asked.

"I'll head back and meet with my companions. They need to know what's going on."

"Okay. But before I go, could I see your scroll?" Glaucus raised his eyebrow for a moment.

"What for?" he asked.

"So I can give you my scroll number," Cole answered.

The Gray Wanderer decided to trust the young man and gave him his scroll. Cole went to contacts, typed in his scroll number and then handed it back to him. Glaucus looked at it, reading "455-245-9882".

"If you and your friends need help, just let me know," Cole assured. "I have to go find my team and take Silvio back home. Stay safe."

"You as well," Glaucus reciprocated before the two of them left Haven in different directions.

-0-

"We found Ruo," Nasser told the group of Jaune, Pyrrha and Weiss as he received a text from Math. "They're heading back to the house."

"You guys go on ahead," Jaune suggested. "I'll stay out here for a bit."

"Okay," Weiss replied. "We'll see you back home."

"See you later, Ice Queen," Jaune replied. Weiss rolled her eyes at Jaune, but retained a small smile on her face.

In truth, Jaune needed some time to himself. He hadn't seen Pyrrha in months and needed to think about what to say to her.

When he left, they didn't depart on the best of terms. He had called her stupid for her attempt to take on Cinder alone, which nearly got her killed. He hoped that he would know what to say to Pyrrha to make things right, but even after months apart, he didn't have the right words.

"I shouldn't have said those things to Pyrrha," he spoke to himself as he sat down on a bench. "I…I shouldn't…I need to talk things out with her. We need to make things right."

Silence.

Jaune felt something be pulled over his mouth, rendering him silent. He looked back to see both humans and Faunus pulling him into an alleyway, restraining him with cuffs on his hands and ropes on his feet. Jaune struggled to get free, but the assailants were too many for him to handle.

"He'll do," Dagger spoke. She reached onto the Arc and took Crocea Mors as the others held him down.

"Do you remember our plan?" Cloak asked her sister.

"Yes, I do," she confirmed. She then activated her Semblance, making her body shift and change until…she looked just like Jaune Arc.

"This'll do just fine," Dagger stated.

"What about him?" one of the attackers asked.

"Dump him in the river," Dagger commanded. "We can't leave his body out in the open."

Jaune struggled to get free, but the binds on his hands and feet were too tight for him to make any movement. He was lifted up by the assailants and carried away to be dealt with.

"Are you sure he's the right choice?" Cloak asked.

"Yes," Dagger assured. "From what we've seen, his Semblance hasn't been unlocked yet. They won't be able to tell the difference."

"Remember the plan," Cloak reminded. "Wait until night, then we'll sneak in, take the cane-"

"And slaughter them," Dagger finished. Cloak reached over and grabbed her sister's hand.

"Be careful," she warned. "If they find out what happened…"

"They won't," Dagger assured before hugging her sister in her true form. The two sisters embraced each other before Dagger pulled away and turned back into Jaune Arc.


	17. Lies and Deceit

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 17: Lies and Deceit**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

**Edit: I've added some more to Cloak and Dagger's backstory.**

"So you believe the White Fang attracted the Grimm to Kuo-Kuana?" Bhaal asked Blake. He, Blake, her parents, Akela and Sun were gathered together once more in Ghira's study, discussing the Grimm attack.

"They had to," Blake answered. "I saw Ilia overlooking the attack while we evacuated the citizens. They had to have been the ones to attract them."

"How can we be certain it's not the civilians?" Kali brought up. "They haven't held much positivity ever since the rally."

"Because the Grimm haven't attacked until now," Bhaal answered.

"If the White Fang are behind these attacks, then we must expose them," Ghira replied. "If we can, we can convince the citizens to help defend Haven. They won't support a faction who endangers their lives."

"But we'd need irrefutable evidence," Akela stated. "Our case against the White Fang would need to be ironclad. A picture of Ilia overlooking the attack alone won't be enough."

"He's right," Kali agreed. "If we don't have enough proof to convince Kuo-Kuana, they may turn against us even more."

"I agree with that," Ghira spoke. "The problem is that we'd need to gather this evidence without getting caught or raising suspicions. We'd need to be VERY discreet."

"As in, no one outside of this room knows," Bhaal stated.

"There's only place where we could get the proof we need," Sun spoke. "The White Fang Headquarters here in Menagerie."

"That place is heavily guarded," Akela replied. "Guards everywhere. To sneak in there and take what we need will take more than a night. We'd need time to know the patrols, get the layout of the building…"

"In other words, it may take time," Bhaal finished. "But it's our only chance to convince the people that they should support us, not Adam."

"Today helped," Sun reminded. "You saw the way they were cheering 'Ghira! Ghira!'. Taking down those Hydra Grimm definitely helped gain support."

"Not that much, I'm afraid," Ghira replied. "We only got twenty-four signatures. We'll need more than that."

"I know a captain who owes us a favor," Blake brought up. She walked over to Ghira's desk, took some paper and a pen and wrote down the number to call the captain of the ship she and Sun had defended on their way to the island.

"Hopefully, he's not too far from here," Akela said. "If he's not available to help us, we'll need a back up plan."

"I'll take care of that," Bhaal assured. "I'll call the ships who can help us."

"Then it's settled?" Blake asked. "We gather evidence against the White Fang and get the transportation we need?"

"Yes," Ghira confirmed. "Be careful, Blake."

"I will," she assured her father before leaving the study and leaping off the balcony onto the grass below.

In the far off distance not too far from the shore, funeral pyres were burning the bodies of those who had died in the Hydra attack. To keep the attendants safe, several of Bhaal's warriors were keeping watch on the ocean in case any Grimm attacked.

"Blake."

The Cat heard the noise and looked over to the shrubbery where it had come from. Movement caused it to shift a bit before two eyes opened up.

"Ilia." Blake was about to reach for her weapon, but Ilia held up her hands.

"Don't, please. I want to help you." Blake raised an eyebrow in confusion, though her hand remained ready to grab Gambol Shroud.

"Help how?" she questioned before Ilia revealed herself wholly to the Belladonna.

"You're right," Ilia confirmed. "The White Fang…we were behind the attack."

"What?" Blake gasped as her fears turned out to be right.

"We were ordered by the Albains to lure the Grimm here by projecting enough negativity from ourselves. I thought maybe it'd just be Cocodrils or something-"

"It wasn't," Blake sharply interrupted. "Two Hydra came onto our shores and destroyed a good portion of Kuo-Kuana. People were killed." She then pointed to the funeral pyres near the shore.

"Their blood is on you."

"I know," Ilia reluctantly admitted. "I didn't think we'd attract two Hydra Grimm. It was meant to just be a simple attack, not a massacre."

"What did you expect?" Blake questioned her former friend. "All kinds of Grimm are attracted to negativity. How could you be so naive?"

"Which is why I want to help," Ilia replied, showing a sincere expression. "My word alone won't be enough to convince the Faunus to turn against them, but I know where to get the evidence we need to condemn the Albains."

Blake narrowed his eyes onto the Chameleon. She didn't know if she could trust her, considering what she's probably done for the White Fang. Then again, just as she had decided that they were going too far, it was possible that Ilia had made the same realization; however, she couldn't let her guard down.

"How am I supposed to know you're telling the truth?" Blake asked Ilia. "How am I supposed to know you're not using us?"

"I know you don't trust me," Ilia replied. "But regardless of that, I can help you get the evidence you need."

"How so?" Blake questioned, crossing her arms.

"I know where they're keeping everything, everything that would turn Menagerie against them," Ilia told her. "I can bring it to you tomorrow night, but we'd need to be discreet. Once the White Fang learns I've handed over the evidence to you, they may take extreme measures."

"You mean a direct attack on my family?" Blake asked. "They wouldn't."

"They may, I don't know," Ilia replied with uncertainty. "But I can't support this anymore. Please, let me help you."

Blake mentally sighed as she contemplated this risky decision. She wasn't fully convinced that Ilia was ready to turn her back on the White Fang, but she was practically offering what her family needed on a silver platter. This could turn out either really well or horribly wrong.

Blake knew how Ilia had suffered when her parents died in a mine collapse in Atlas. This had pushed her to easily support Sienna Khan's methods of violence and terrorism against the humans who had discriminated against them, especially the SDC.

Blake's own experiences with discrimination had pushed her to support Sienna, but turned away from it after seeing how far the White Fang was going in their terrorism. She had to accept the possibility that Ilia had come to the same realization she had.

"Okay," she accepted, though reluctantly. "Where will you deliver it?"

"At the Market Square at midnight tomorrow night," Ilia informed. The Chameleon was about to leave until she heard Blake say 'Ilia.' She stopped and looked back at her friend.

"I'm choosing to trust you," she stated in a warning tone. "If you're lying to me, then no more chances."

"I understand," Ilia replied before leaping away in camouflage.

-0-

When she was far enough, Ilia pulled out her scroll and dialed a number. It run for a few moments for being answered by Corsac Albain.

"_Well?" _

"She's taken the bait," Ilia informed. "We'll…we'll be ready."

"_Well done. This'll work perfectly as long as everything goes according to plan. We'll be able to eliminate Ghira and Bhaal without showing our hand." _

"Eliminate…eliminate them?" Ilia asked with a stutter. "But you said-"

"_High Leader Taurus was informed of the Belladonnas suspecting us of the Grimm attack. He's ordered us to eliminate them; we've no other option." _

"But if we do this, the people of Menagerie will turn against us."

"_They won't," _Corsac assured. _"Because Ghira won't be killed by the White Fang…he'll be killed by his own bodyguards." _

"What?" Ilia gasped. "How…?"

"_We've managed to 'relieve' some of the bodyguards and replace them with our brothers and sisters. Once Blake is taken care of and we can take her to face justice for her crimes, the Belladonnas will be killed and we will have solved our problem. Return to Headquarters immediately." _

"I will," Ilia assured before hanging up.

In her heart, Ilia was conflicted. She knew that as long as the Belladonnas were in the way, they'd do what they could to stop the White Fang. The thing is that they could only do something about it in Menagerie since it was the only place they had influence over.

There was no need to kill the Belladonnas. Even if they made it look like Ghira's bodyguards had turned on him, how long would the people buy this lie? Days? Weeks? Months? Once their lie was exposed, the people of Menagerie would turn against them.

"Should we…?" Ilia asked herself. "But Adam said a direct attack would alienate them. Why would he suddenly change his mind?"

She didn't want to do this, to help kill the Belladonnas. But if it was for the sake of the Faunus, it had to be done.

-0-

"This is going better than I hoped," Fennec deviously told his brother. "How long will the White Fang support a leader who orders the deaths of his own people?" Corsac smiled evilly as well.

"Soon, High Leader Taurus will be overthrown just as Sienna was," he stated. "Once he's gone, I'm certain the White Fang will look to their 'honest and reliable' Menagerie representatives to lead them."

"Exactly," Fennec agreed. "We've created a win-win scenario for ourselves. If our plan succeeds, we will be in High Leader Taurus's good graces for 'taking care' of the Belladonnas. If it fails, Adam will take the blame since we're merely following his orders."

"Indeed," Corsac replied.

-0-

"Ozpin," Glaucus addressed the Beacon Headmaster.

"_Glaucus," _he addressed back to the Gray Wanderer.

Everyone, with the exception of Jaune, was in the living room, Glaucus having just arrived from his meeting with Lionheart. There was tension all over the place, all directed at Ozpin, mostly coming from Mathdon, Pyrrha, Yang and Glaucus.

"_I take it you told them?" _the Beacon Headmaster asked.

"Everything," Glaucus bluntly stated. "They deserved to know what they were up against, so I told them everything they needed to know…unlike you."

"Hey," Qrow told Glaucus. "Will everyone seriously lay off him?"

"After what he did to Pyrrha?" Math brought up.

"And considering that he's possibly possessing the body of a young boy?" Pyrrha questioned.

"_I didn't choose Oscar," _Ozpin responded. _"I don't have any say in the people my soul merges with." _

"Sorry, Ozpin, but considering what I've seen, I'm not inclined to trust you," Math responded.

"_Peoples' lives were at stake," _Ozpin replied rather sharply. _"I don't have the luxury of always playing by the rules; I have to do what's needed to keep people safe. I didn't have time to worry about your personal feelings for Ms. Nikos."_

Math gave Ozpin a death glare, one that even Grimm would be frightened of. He slowly rose onto his feet, his hand clenched as he walked over to Ozpin. Before he could reach him, Glaucus stood up and held his hand up, stopping his apprentice.

"Don't," he told him. "All the physical pain you'd deal to him would only hurt the boy."

"His name's Oscar," Ruby told them.

"Oscar, sorry," Glaucus apologized. "Make no mistake; what Ozpin did was wrong and he certainly deserves a good beating, but Oscar doesn't deserve to suffer for his choices. He didn't ask for this, you know?"

That last sentence made Math immediately snap out of his anger. He knew too well what it was like to be hated for something you couldn't control. He had already punched Oscar once, but thought he had hurt Ozpin instead; if he did so again knowing what he'd know, he'd be no better than those who had hurt him. Calming down a bit, Math sighed and sat back down.

"_Thank you," _Ozpin told the Gray Wanderer.

"I didn't do it for you, Ozpin," Glaucus told him. "I did it because I don't want Oscar suffering for your mistakes. You need to work to regain their trust if you want them to help you."

"_And I will," _he assured. _"You said you went to see Lionheart, correct?" _

"Yes, but it didn't go well," the Gray Wanderer answered. "He lied."

"Lied?" Math asked. "How so?"

"He said he didn't know of any Huntsmen in Mistral, even though you said Qrow had met him over two weeks ago," Glaucus informed. "Leonardo would never lie about something like that. Something is seriously wrong."

"He has to be working for Salem," Weiss stated. "Everything is against him; leaving Haven defenseless, Salem's forces finding Raven's camp, lying to Glaucus about not knowing of any Huntsmen in Mistral…this is too much evidence against him."

"And he also won't seek the Council's help," Glaucus interrupted. "He claims they won't listen to him because he's a Faunus."

"That's bullshit," Qrow exclaimed. "Leo may be a Faunus, but the Council would never ignore a warning of a possible attack on the Academy, especially after what happened to Beacon."

"I tried calling them, but they won't answer," Glaucus informed. "Luckily, there is some good news."

"We have help from Silvio Steel, the leader of the Bushi militia," Robin spoke up. "He's already been informed of the attack on Haven and will assemble his forces once he's recovered."

"Recovered?" Ruby asked, not liking the sound of that word.

"When we were on the Anima Express, the Iron Knights attacked us," Math explained. "Silvio was wounded, but we managed to keep him alive long enough to receive medical attention."

"Who's with him?" Qrow asked.

"A team of students named Team COAL," Nasser informed. "One of them went to the CCT to alert the militia to come back and help defend Haven. Plus, they're really kickass."

"_That's the best news we've heard in a while," _Ozpin replied. _"It's good to know that we'll have help defending Haven. But one problem still remains." _

"The Spring Maiden," Qrow stated.

"You know where she is?" Glaucus asked, nearly surprised by this fact. "Where?"

"She WAS at Raven's camp," Yang informed. "That was until Cinder attacked."

"Raven had her?" Glaucus scoffed.

He was utterly frustrated at that woman's hypocrisy. She said how much she didn't want to get involved in Salem's war, yet willingly harbored a Maiden, who she knew Salem was after. She thought herself smart, yet possibly made one of the stupidest decisions to compromise her continued avoidance of the war.

"Where's Jaune?" Yang asked.

"He said he just needed some time," Weiss told her teammate. As if right on cue, the door opened to show Jaune walk in and close it behind him.

"Hey, everyone," he greeted.

"Hey, Jaune," Ruby replied. "Where'd you head off to?"

"Just needed some time to myself," he claimed. "I'm going to head upstairs and rest for a bit if that's okay."

"But you just got back," Yang brought up. "You need to catch up on some stuff."

"Okay," he replied before sitting down. "So, what do we need to talk about?"

"For one, we think Lionheart may be working for Salem," Glaucus brought up.

"How so?" Jaune asked.

"He lied to me," the Gray Wanderer answered. "He claimed he didn't know of any Huntsmen in Mistral, yet Qrow had met him over two weeks ago."

"It doesn't help that he won't inform the Council of the attack," Math added. "He has to be working for the other team."

"That's not good," Jaune replied. "We're running short of allies in Mistral."

"Not entirely," Ruo replied. "The militia leader, Silvio, is here in Mistral."

"He is?" Jaune almost gasped. "Where is he?"

"He's being taken back home," Glaucus informed. "The Wild Hunt tried to kill him after he was taken to the hospital."

"The Wild Hunt tried to kill him?" Pyrrha gasped. "That's horrible."

"Hypocritical jackasses," Nasser scoffed.

"Language, please," Saf told the axe user.

"Whatever, it's true," he replied.

"Luckily, Team COAL will use this to turn the public against Darren Moss," Glaucus told the group. "Attempting to kill a member of one of the most well-regarded families in Mistral is sure to turn the people against him."

"Let's hope so," Jaune replied. "Well, if that's all, I'll go ahead and take that rest." This time, no one objected. The Arc walked up the stairs and examined the rooms, trying to figure out which one was his. He finally found it when he saw a bag with the rainbow emblem on it, so he entered and closed the door behind him. When he was certain no one was listening, he pulled out his scroll and dialed Cloak's number.

"_Hey," _she greeted. _"How'd it go?" _

"Those idiots don't suspect a thing," Dagger replied in her normal voice. "I saw the cane; it's on a young boy."

"_Don't get cocky," _Cloak reminded her sister. _"You need to keep it up until they're all asleep." _

"We've got this," Dagger assured. "Is everyone ready?"

"_I've brought all the __Assassins we can. The snipers will be ready with their Aura-Breaking ammo." _

"No. They need to use regular ammo; we need to save all the AB ammunition for the attack on Haven. Normal ammo only for this task."

"_I'll let them know. Be careful." _

"You as well, sis." Dagger hung up the phone and reverted to her normal physical self and sat on the bed.

"_Freaks!" one of the gang of orphan bullies shouted at Cloak and Dagger, both of them ten years old. They pushed Cloak onto the wooden floor and started kicking at her while Dagger punched at them. _

"_Stay away from my sister!" she snarled. "She hasn't done anything to you!" _

"_She's a Faunus," one of the orphans dismissed. "We can do whatever we want to her." _

"_Put her under the floorboards," the lead bully demanded. He then proceeded to hold Dagger back while the other three bullies dragged Cloak across the floor into an empty space where they planned to nail her below the floor. _

"_Get away from her!" Dagger roared before grabbing a pen and sticking in the lead bully's neck. When he didn't fall over, she proceeded to stab him over and over until he was dead. _

_The other bullies froze in horror at the sight of the dead child. They immediately let go of Cloak and ran off, shouting 'Murder! Murder!' Dagger pulled her sister on her feet and was about to run for the door; she stopped when she saw a burning candle on the teacher's desk, belonging to someone who did nothing to stop their harassment. __Dagger quickly grabbed the candle and threw it against the window curtains, easily catching fire._

_"What are you doing?" Cloak gasped. _

_"What I should've done a long time ago," Dagger replied before they ran out of the orphanage. When they were outside, Dagger grabbed a nearby chain and locked the doors shut. _

The orphanage was burned down that day and many lives were lost. Dagger didn't care though; they abused and bullied her and Cloak for being Faunus. Even the adults barely did anything to protect them. Only one adult ever treated them well...and luckily, she was not at the orphanage that day.

"Stupid humans," she growled. Ironically, it was a human she served for a long while. After the orphanage was burned down, they turned to a dirty way of living.

_'How'd it go?" the crime lord Dagger worked for asked. The thirteen-year-old Faunus reached into a bag and pulled out a severed right hand. _

_"He's been taken care of," she assured. "We won't have any more problems with our clients after this." The crime lord chuckled. _

_"You're pretty cold-blooded," he commented. "I guess that orphanage really didn't treat you right, especially after kicking you out." _

_"We weren't kicked out, we ran away," Dagger revealed. "The bullying got worse by the day...until I killed one of them." _

_"Oh," the crime lord gasped. "No wonder you're so okay with killing." _

_"I'll do anything to protect my sister," Dagger stated. The crime lord smiled before giving a bundle of Lien to Dagger as payment for her job. _

_"Keep doing good and she'll should be fine," the crime lord assured Dagger. _

During that time, Dagger was the muscle, but Cloak was the brains. Her sister found the best jobs and she carried them out, regardless of what was needed of her. especially when it came to murder. Cloak sometimes offered to join, but Dagger was adamant of her staying away from them out of fear of her getting killed. Everything went well until...

_"Let her go!" Dagger roared at the crime lord's lieutenant, who was holding Cloak at gunpoint. _

_"Here's what the boss wants," the lieutenant told her. "You work for free now." _

_"Like hell," she responded. _

_"Either you work for free or we blow her brains out," the lieutenant warned. _

_WHOOSH!_

_The lieutenant froze, but to Cloak and Dagger's surprise, a hooded and armored figure had appeared, a nodachi in his hand. The criminal then fell dead, his head rolling down the stoned path. Dagger quickly grabbed one of the guns and pointed it at the strange figure as she rushed up to stand in front of Cloak._

"_Who are you!?" she demanded to know. _

"_I'm someone intolerable of injustice, of corruption of power," he answered. "And I'm willing to make them pay." _

"_Make them…pay?" Cloak asked timidly. _

"_You have no reason to fear me," he assured. "You are not corrupt. You are victims, just like me." _

"_Like you?" Dagger asked, lowering the gun. _

"_My name is Nachtfel and I wish to create a world without prejudice, without corruption," he introduced. "Will you help me?" _

They answered 'yes' that day…and Dagger never regretted it. She wanted a world without corruption, without prejudice, without discrimination; Nachtfel was the way to that perfect world.

-0-

"Here's a good spot," one of the Assassins said, having carried Jaune to the river and bound him in irons. They had reached the lowest part of Mistral where there'd be no witnesses to them drowning the former Beacon student.

Jaune struggled to get out, but the binds were too much for him. Before he knew it, he felt his entire body become drenched.

They had thrown him into the river.

Jaune continued to struggle to break free from his binds, but it was too much for him. He had to get out or he'd drown and his friends could be killed by the assailants.

His head started becoming light from the lack of oxygen as the irons dragged him further into the depths. His strength was becoming weaker and weaker as he watched the surface grow further from him.

"_You're stronger than you think, Jaune." _

That was Pyrrha's voice, the first person to ever believe in him as a fighter and a person.

"_You're not worthless." _

Weiss. Despite not treating him well at first, she eventually warmed up to him and even kissed his cheek.

No. He couldn't give up, not when he needed to be there for his friends, his teammates and everyone else.

To his amazement, his body started to glow with his white Aura. How this was happening, he didn't know, but suddenly, he felt stronger. He struggled to break free once more; this time, he broke through the iron binds like they were cardboard.

"What is this?" he wondered before he was able to break his legs free as well. Finally free, he swam up as fast as he could to reach the surface before he ran out of air. Just before he felt he wasn't going to make it, he rose from the water and climbed onto land.

He coughed in ragged gasps, some of which caused him to cough up water. When he was done, he slowly got up onto his feet; despite nearly falling twice, he managed to keep his balance and gazed at his arms.

They were glowing bright with his white Aura, but he hadn't engaged it. In fact, this didn't feel like his Aura being active. It felt…different.

"What is this?" he wondered. "Is this…my Semblance?"

A thought struck him.

Back in Forever Falls, after he had refused to help Cardin pull his sadistic prank on Pyrrha, he and his teammates took him to the deeper parts of the forest and beat him. When Cardin landed one hit on him, his Aura shined brightly, causing Cardin's hand to become hurt. He didn't engage his Aura during the beating, especially since he had very little experience with it.

This felt like it again. This had to be his Semblance; whatever it was, it had helped him escape certain death…and he had no time to test it out.

"I have to warn the others," he said to himself. He had much ground to cover and little time to act. As for his Semblance…he just hoped it'd help out more than just himself.


	18. Night Raid

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 18: Night Raid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

**Author's Notes: I took this chapter down because I felt I rushed on this one. I decided to go back and improve it. To be honest, I've been doing a whole 'hot off the press' routine lately and I need to stop. **

**I hope you enjoy this edited version. **

"What!?" Darren Moss barked, an older man with moss green eyes, black hair and a rather lean build. "What do you mean it failed?"

"_Silvio was able to hold his own, I guess," _a Wild Hunter informed. _"But that's not all." _

"What else?" Darren growled, barely containing his anger.

"_One of our hideouts was attacked," _the Wild Hunter added. _"It was the Faunus; we know because they left a message in blood saying 'Freedom for the Faunus!"." _

"This is your fault," Darren snarled. "If you had done your job, we wouldn't be in this mess. This could cripple public support for the Wild Hunt."

"_You gave us the order! Even if we succeeded, we'd still face the public hating us for killing a Steel." _

Darren hung up and slammed his scroll on the table. His plan was perfect; kill Silvio Steel and cut the head of the Bushi militia. Now, he was about to face Gods know what for his attempted murder of Silvio.

"That filthy traitor deserved to die," he growled. "I wouldn't have had to try and have him killed if he had just behaved." Just then, his scroll rung again. He didn't recognize the number, but he picked it up anyway.

"_You bloody, hypocritical piece of shit!" _the voice of Silvio's father shouted. _"How dare you try to kill my son!" _

"I did not order my men to attack your son," Darren denied. "If they did so, they did it without my consent."

"_You're a liar," _Mr. Steel responded angrily. _"The Wild Hunt would never have attacked without your say-so. Why else would they target humans as well as Faunus?" _

"I am not responsible for their actions," Darren replied. "The Wild Hunters who are targeting humans have taken my goal too far. I am not telling them to attack humans."

"_What was it you said?" _Mr. Steel responded. _"A leader must always take responsibility for the actions of his followers. Was that a lie?" _

"Those Wild Hunters who take my goal too far can barely be called my followers," Moss denied. "My true followers seek justice for those who died at Beacon."

"_Everything you've done has been for yourself!" _Mr. Steel angrily pointed out. _"The Wild Hunt are just pawns to make things the way you want them and you're using the Fall of Beacon as a rallying call." _

"I'm not the one who destroyed Beacon, the Faunus did," Darren reminded Mr. Steel. "As for the Wild Hunters who are attacking humans, they're doing it out of their own free will; I give no such orders to do so. Even if I did, how would it benefit me?"

"_Because you think anyone who goes against your views is a traitor to humanity. You expect everyone to share your views on Faunus, humans, and how the two races are supposed to be around each other; anyone who says differently, you brand them a traitor." _

"As I said, I'm not ordering the deaths of humans." He then hung up, not wanting to hear anymore of Steel's nonsense.

The Steels were traitors, plain and simple: he wouldn't accept it otherwise until they accepted the fact that he was right. He believed that everything he did was for the greater of humanity; those who associated with the Faunus or disagrees with him were traitors and he had no mercy for them.

He dialed a number, one that was in Atlas. It rung several times before a voice answered _'Hello?' _

"Hello, Mr. Schnee," Darren greeted. "Are you doing well?"

"_Doing well?" _Jacques questioned. _"My daughter has disappeared and I've been under so much public fire ever since. They're making claims that it was my 'unjust' renouncing of her heiress status." _

"Well, that is clearly wrong," Darren stated. "She endangered a woman's life and clearly didn't understand the consequences of her actions. She deserved to have her status as heiress removed."

"_Ugh, I'm in a mess and it's all her fault," _Jacques snarled. _"If she had behaved herself instead of pursuing her ridiculous dreams of being a Huntress…I should never have let her go to Beacon. I should've kept her here where she belonged." _

"She is indeed a spoiled brat," Darren agreed. "But I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"_I've seen the news, you idiot," _Jacques interrupted. _"I'm funding you to turn the public against the Faunus, not turn Mistral into a damn bloodbath! You tried to openly kill Silvio Steel! Have you lost your mind!?" _

"He was a traitor to humanity and needed to be dealt with," Moss justified.

"_He is a member of one of Mistral's most powerful families," _Jacques reminded. _"He is too well-regarded in Mistral to have been targeted. Why couldn't you have let the White Fang or Iron Knights kill him?" _

"He needed to die for his treason against our people."

"_For the love of…! Moss, your actions border on near terrorism! Do you have any idea what would happen to us if you were branded a terrorist for what you've done!?" _

"I'm not a terrorist nor will I be branded one. The Faunus are the monsters, not me; they forced me to use these extreme methods."

"_I risked funding your Wild Hunt because of what I could benefit from should we succeed in convincing the public to put them back in the Dust mines where they belong. If I had known you'd lead with such stupidity-" _

"This is not my fault. I will not be branded a terrorist, I will not be regarded as a monster, nor will I be put at fault…Hello? Hello?" Jacques had hung up on him.

"Just you wait," he snarled. "I will be regarded as a hero for what I've done."

-0-

Everyone had fallen asleep in the house. Dagger, still disguised as Jaune, kept an eye on Ren, making sure that he remained asleep long enough for her to signal her sister. When she was confident, she slowly got out of bed and made her way to the door to exit the bedroom.

She moved quietly through the hallway, making sure to make as little noise as possible. She knew that one mistake could get her exposed and the attack would be a failure, so she couldn't afford to rush anything in the fear of making noise.

She halted when she heard movement in one of the rooms, causing her to move up against the wall beside the door. The door opened to Qrow yawning as he walked down to the bathroom a little down the hall.

When she was certain it was safe, she kept making her way down to the living room. She activated her scroll's light and flashed it several times to signal the assassins as he unlocked the door.

-0-

"Saf?" Pyrrha asked as she and Saf laid in their beds in the bedroom they decided to share. "You're still awake?"

"I am," she answered. "I don't want to be, but I am."

"Are you holding up okay?" she asked her most likely future sister-in-law.

"I'm fine," she assured. "I'm honestly more worried about you and Math. We saw the way he was today." Pyrrha's scowl of concern changed to one of apathy.

"Ozpin lied to us," she reminded. "He betrayed our trust and manipulated us. I agree that Oscar doesn't deserve to be hurt for what Ozpin has done, but…What if Oscar is just a lie?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, possessing the body of a fourteen-year-old boy? Doesn't that disturb you?"

"It does a little," Saf admitted. "And you're right. He could be lying, but…" The spear martial artist fell silent for a moment, recollecting the events that had happened.

"I've never seen Math so angry before. He…"

She remembered her brother's face really well, one that she had almost never seen from him. He looked as if he wanted to kill Ozpin for this severe violation of his trust for sending his team on a mission they weren't ready for and forcing the Maiden powers on Pyrrha.

Luckily, Glaucus snapped him out of his anger by reminding him that Oscar did not deserve to suffer for Ozpin's choices. If hadn't been for the Gray Wanderer, there's no telling of what Math would've done; she had never seen him so volatile before.

Suddenly, she witnessed a blue projection of a sleeping Pyrrha in contrast to the one currently awake. Blue figures wearing hoods and wielding bladed weapons slowly entered the room one by one, clearly not waking Pyrrha up since she remained asleep. Two more entered and walked towards Saf, then pointed what appeared to look like electric cables.

They shot them at the two Huntresses; Pyrrha shook and spasmed from the pain before her Aura was depleted. The intruders then proceeded to violently stab Pyrrha and Saf to death with their blades.

"Saf?" Pyrrha asked.

"Get your weapons," she told the Amazon. She grabbed Himmelkanten and looked out the window to see the cloaked intruders slowly pouring into the house. Pyrrha went over to the window and witnessed the Assassins entering, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Get everyone up," Pyrrha told Saf. "I'll go down and buy you some time."

"Be careful," Saf warned. They both hurried out of the room, Saf to go warn the others and Pyrrha to hold off the intruders.

-0-

"_I'm seeing movement," _one of the snipers outside warned Dagger. _"I think they may be alerted to what's going on." _

"Thanks for letting me know," Dagger replied. Just then, the door slammed shut; Dagger looked back to see that Pyrrha had used her Semblance to cut off the incoming intruders.

"Well, well," the Assassin replied. "So that's how you earned the name Invincible Girl; you can control metal."

"Who are you?" Pyrrha demanded to know. "How'd you get in here?" Dagger smirked before changing her appearance to mimic Jaune. Pyrrha's eyes widened in shock at this revelation; they had been fooled into letting an intruder in…and the real Jaune was missing.

"Where's Jaune?" she demanded to know, her face contorted with anger at what they could've done with her teammate. Dagger looked as if she was pondering Pyrrha's question, but in truth, she couldn't care less.

"Hmm, I'd say he's at the bottom of the Mistral River," Dagger replied before changing back.

"No…" Pyrrha whispered, horrified by this news. She trembled at hearing that her teammate and friend was killed so they could infiltrate their house. Her eyes almost watered, but fought them back since she had a fight on her hands.

"How could someone without their Semblance be allowed into a Huntsman Academy, anyway?" Dagger asked, almost taunting the Amazon.

Pyrrha responded by thrusting Ekdikeo at the Assassin, who dodged the attack and unsheathed her weapons: a wakizashi infused with what Pyrrha believed to be Wind Dust and a pistol with a knife blade under the barrel.

The door busted open, allowing more Assassins into the house. Some of them prepared to charge Pyrrha, but Dagger stopped them.

"She's mine," she told them. "You know your task." The Assassins backed off and made their way up the stairs.

-0-

"Wake up!" Saf told everyone. "We're under attack!" She quickly opened doors and shouted to wake everyone up, alerting them to the danger they were in.

"What?" Math asked as he got up.

"We're under attack," she repeated. "Get your weapons." Math nodded and grabbed his sword and shield as Nasser grabbed his own weapons.

"Where's Pyrrha?" Math asked his sister.

BAM!

The noise could be heard from up the stairs, alerting those awake that the door had been broken down. Footsteps were heard running up the stairs; Saf looked down to see the same cloaked attackers in her vision hurrying up.

"They're awake!" one of them alerted.

"Iron Knights!" Saf alerted as well. Her Semblance kicked in as a Knight aimed an electric cable at her, allowing to easily dodge it and then throw a knife at the Knight, hitting their chest and causing them to stumble down the stairs.

"What's going on?" Ruby called out as she rushed out of her room with Crescent Rose. "I heard screaming."

"We're under attack," Math informed. "Iron Knights have broken into the house."

"Where's Jaune?" Ren asked, the Arc leader nowhere to be seen.

"He wasn't in bed?" Nora asked Ren.

"We'll find him later," Qrow told them. "For now…we've got company."

"Where's Pyrrha?" Yang asked.

"She's down in the living room," Saf answered. "She may need our help."

"Then let's hurry," Math replied before throwing Torrach at a Knight, knocking them down. When it returned to him, he used his sword to bounce it back at another Assassin.

As the fighting at the staircase went on, Robin looked outside, believing that the Assassins may have long range support. He activated the thermal vision on his visor and saw at least ten heat signatures in the distance, one lining up to shoot at him. He narrowly dodged the bullet by leaping out of the way.

"They have snipers!" he warned everyone. "Stay away from the windows."

"Got it!" Ruo responded before throwing a wave of flame at a Knight.

"There it is!" one of the Knights alerted, pointing to…Ozpin's cane. "Kill the boy! Get the cane!"

"Uh oh," Oscar gasped.

"_Remember our training, Oscar," _Ozpin reminded the farm boy. _"They mustn't get the cane." _

"Got it," Oscar responded.

"Toss grenades!" one of the Knights ordered. Several of them pulled out what everyone presumed to be Fire dust bombs and threw them at the group, erupting into violent flames.

"Robin, Ruby, take out those snipers!" Glaucus ordered. "Everyone else, get down and help Pyrrha secure the ground level!" The groups acknowledged their tasks assigned by Glaucus and rushed to complete them, Math's group hurrying down the stairway and Robin and Ruby preparing to take out the snipers.

-0-

Dagger blocked Pyrrha's spear with her wakizashi, then flipped over the Amazon to aim her pistol, but was slammed into the wall by a swipe of Agapas. Dagger got up quickly to avoid being skewered by the Invincible Girl; on her feet, she fired several shots at the spear user, but they were all deflected by Ekdikeo.

Pyrrha tried to maintain her concentration, but she was slowly breaking down in her fighting. She had just been told that her friend, Jaune, had been thrown into the Mistral River and had drowned. She didn't want to believe that he was dead, but he would've been in the river for hours now; there's no way he'd still be alive.

"Pyrrha!" Math called out as he and the others arrived to help the redheaded warrior. All it took was the small distraction for Pyrrha to be hit in the head with a sniper; despite her Aura preventing it from being fatal, she was left dazed for a moment.

Dagger took the opportunity to attach a spiked chain in her bracer to the bottom of her wakizashi and tossed it to wrap around Pyrrha's torso, making sure her Aura went down. When she was certain that she would land a fatal blow, she prepared to slash her with her gun.

"No!" Math cried out as he swung his sword at Dagger and slashed her torso.

To his shock, his sword was burning with brown flames and he didn't activate his Semblance. To shock him even more, the area where he struck Dagger was bleeding, despite her own Aura being active.

All he could do was gaze upon the burning blade in awe. His attack had pierced through her Aura and wounded her, preventing her from possibly killing Pyrrha. Was his Semblance evolving like his sister's possibly?

"What…?" he spoke to himself.

"Math!" Nasser called as he threw Hafashahn into an Assassin about to attack him. He then retrieved the axe from their corpse, but upon looking at Math, he too shared his shocked reaction to the brown flames engulfing his sword.

"Whoa," he exclaimed. "How did you-?"

"I have no idea," Math interrupted.

"Can we save it for later?" Yang called out to them before throwing an Assassin into the wall. "We're in the middle of a fight!"

"Right," Math recollected himself for the fight.

Upstairs, Oscar struggled to hold his ground against the much more experiences Assassin he was currently fighting. As he blocked the first blade, he was left open to the other one, hitting his face though his Aura prevented any harm. The cane went up into the air and was caught by the Assassin.

"We have the objective," they said over the link in their ear. "We're prepared to leave."

"No, you don't!" Qrow shouted as he punched the Assassin onto the floor, making them drop the cane. As he reached for it, the Assassin swung their katana at his arm; he blocked their second attack and then kicked them into the burning wall, causing fiery wood to fall on top of them.

"Thanks," Oscar told the scythe user.

"No problem," he replied as he gave Oscar the cane.

"We need to get out while we still can!" Glaucus warned everyone on their floor. "This house is going up in flames!" He hurried over to the room where Ruby and Robin were still in a long range fight with the Assassin snipers.

"Get out now!" he warned them. "This whole house will be on fire in minutes!" The two students nodded their heads and stayed low as they hurried out of the room.

"There's still several snipers out there," he informed Glaucus.

"We'll take care of them later," the veteran responded. "For now, we must get out while we still can."

"Right," Ren agreed. He quickly ran back into his bedroom and came back out carrying Crocea Mors, which Dagger had left behind since she didn't need it.

Downstairs, Yang threw punch after punch at Dagger, which she dodged with her natural agility and nimbleness. After getting shot in the torso by Dagger's gun, the tables turned as the Assassin leader went on the offensive, slashing ferociously at the yellow dragon.

When she was about to slash at Yang's head, a glyph stopped her blade, allowing Yang to send Dagger flying into the wall, though it cause some of the ceiling to fall down. Everyone looked up to see smoke slithering between the wooden floorboards and a rise in temperature was felt among everyone.

"The house is on fire!" Weiss called out.

"Keep them in!" Dagger ordered the Assassins to push the assault on them. She shot several bullets at Yang, which she dodged and retaliated with a shotgun shell from her prosthetic arm. It exploded on impact, making Dagger's Aura shimmer from the attack.

"You're with the Iron Knights, aren't you?" Yang questioned.

"Yes, we are," Dagger confirmed. "We're the ones who'll make this world a better place."

"A better place!?" Yang roared, her eyes turned blood red. "I've seen what you and your Knights have done; endangering millions of people, slaughtering thousands. You're not making the world a better place, you're destroying it!"

"You haven't suffered like my sister and I have!" Dagger barked. "Hated, discriminated, hurt…ever since our parents died, no one ever showed us kindness, not until Nachtfel. I don't care how vile or bloody I have to become, I will do whatever it takes to protect my sister from those who'll hurt her."

Yang's eyes turned lilac again after hearing Dagger explain her motives. The will to do whatever it takes to secure a sibling's safety…Yang understood it all too well from her own childhood. Having to be both a mother and a sister to Ruby due to their mothers' disappearance and their father falling into depression made Yang relate to Dagger's desire to see her sister safe.

"_Dagger, you have to get out!" _Cloak told her over their commlink. _"The house is on fire! If you don't get out, you'll be burned alive!" _

"Everyone out!" Dagger ordered, heeding her twin sister's words.

Weiss was grabbed by the throat and thrown into the wall by a stronger Assassin that took her by surprise. Before she could stand back up, she was electrocuted by the cable until her Aura was depleted. The Assassin prepared to shoot her at point-blank range before something knocked them face-first against the wall.

"Jaune!" Weiss called out as the Arc helped her onto her feet.

"Are you all right?" he asked her.

"Jaune!?" Pyrrha shouted. "But…you were thrown into the river!"

"I got out," he told Pyrrha. "But I think…"

His hands started to shine with his Aura as did Weiss's. The Schnee could feel it being restored by the Arc as she was enveloped in Jaune's Aura.

"Jaune!" Ren called out as he and the others arrived downstairs. "What happened to you?"

"It's a long story," Jaune explained. Ren handed Crocea Mors over to his team leader, which he happily accept back.

"More Huntsmen!" an Assassin from outside alerted. The sounds of fighting mixes with the crackling of the flames engulfing the house as it started to fall apart.

"How'd a fire get started?" Pyrrha gasped.

"Some of those Assassins threw Fire dust bombs," Math informed. "We need to get out now!"

"_Dagger, we've got more Huntsmen outside!" _Cloak warned. _"We need to fall back!" _

"But we don't have the cane!" Dagger replied.

"_We'll have another chance at Haven," _Cloak responded. _"Please, we need to fall back!" _

Dagger looked outside to see the rest of the Assassins trying to combat a trio of Huntsmen, but were too much for them. If they stayed, they'd be killed and Nachtfel would lose one of his most important detachments. She hated it, but they had to fall back.

"Fall back!" Dagger called out. "Fall back!" The moment the order was given, the rest of the Assassins hurried out of the burning house and into the night. As for the students, they hurried out of the burning house before the ceiling fell on them.

Math initially felt anger at the situation until he looked forward to see a very familiar face.

"Forest!" he called out. He rushed up to his mentor and bro hugged him.

"Are you all right?" he asked his apprentice. "What happened here? We could see the smoke for miles."

"Those Assassins were working for the Iron Knights," Math informed. "I heard them say something about…"

"_Wanting my cane," _Ozpin spoke before approaching Forest. The eagle's warm and fatherly expression changed to a cold one as he immediately recognized the voice from the boy.

"Ozpin," he coldly addressed.

"_Mr. Kotka," _he replied back, not bothering to be polite in his tone.

"Well, I'm glad you're here," Math told his mentor. "With everything that's been going, we needed some more friendly faces."

"What has been going on?" he asked as he looked at the burning house. "Besides that?"

Before Math could answer, several militia started to arrive with Oren and Cole leading them as well as Mistral firefighters. As the firefighters tended to the flames, Cole and Oren approached the group.

"What happened?" Oren asked. "Is everyone alright?"

"Other than some bumps and bruises, we're fine," Math assured. "We were attacked by Iron Knights."

"Attacked?" Cole asked. "Maybe they saw you as too much of a threat."

"They did try to sneak in, but my sister was able to warn us," Math continued. "We fought back, they threw Fire Dust grenades…and now this." He gestured to their burning home once more, now being fought by the Mistral firefighters.

"I'm guessing you guys will need a place to stay," Cole stated.

"Are you offering or stating?" Ruo replied.

"It can be an offer," Cole answered. "I know somewhere you can stay."

"Sounds good to me," Nasser responded. "Where would we be staying?"

"This way," Cole replied as he led the group away from the fire. As they walked, Weiss hurried up to Jaune.

"If you nearly drowned in the river, then who was the Jaune we saw?" she asked.

"That was one of those Assassins," Jaune informed. "They had the ability to change their appearance."

"Well…" the Schnee heiress blushed and rubbed her arm. "Thanks."

"I wish I could've gotten here in time to warn you," Jaune stated. He stopped talking when he noticed Weiss hesitantly reaching her hand out to touch Jaune's, but stopped and brought it back to herself. The Arc blushed too, hiding his face from the Schnee heiress.

"Ugh," Nasser groaned. "Just kiss and make babies like Math and Pyrrha already!"

"We don't have babies!" Math shouted angrily.

"Yet," Nasser repeated what Math said earlier.


	19. Deal with the Devil

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 19: Deal with the Devil**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

"We're almost there," Raven told Vernal as they continued through the forest. "We're less than a day away from the safe haven. Once we're there, we'll lose Salem's cronies."

"That won't stop them from looking for us," Vernal replied. "She'll do whatever it takes to get the Relic; she might as well destroy the world until she gets it."

"Let the world suffer then," Raven callously responded. "The world's not my responsibility, the tribe is." Suddenly, Raven held up her hand, telling Vernal to stop.

"What is it?" she asked.

The Branwen listened carefully. At first, Vernal couldn't tell what she was on about until she heard faint crunching and chewing in the distance. Raven silently gestured for Vernal to cautiously follow her up a hill to get a better view of what was going on.

They took it slow, making sure not to create any noise and constantly looking up and down at the ground to avoid stepping on anything that could give away their position. They diverged from their original path far enough until they found a good vantage point to see what was happening. What they saw horrified them.

Many Branwen bandits littered the ground, soaked in red. Beowulves strolled around the small area, eating at their corpses, tearing them bit by bit. One of them picked up one of the bandit's bodies and tore their leg off before biting into it.

"No," Vernal whispered. "They know better than to project negativity to attract Grimm."

"Apparently not," Raven replied. "We need to keep moving."

"Help!" one of the bandits cried out. Raven and Vernal looked down to see one of the bandits still alive. He held his gun up, trying to shoot at the Grimm, but was out of bullets. Two of the Beowulves stepped away from their meals to crouch towards the survivor, growling with hunger.

"Raven!" Vernal told the bandit leader. "We have to save him!"

"He's a dead man," Raven dismissed. "Let the Beowulves have him."

"He's one of us!" the Spring Maiden defiantly told her. "You always say we don't abandon our own. Was that a lie too?"

Slap.

Vernal held her face, feeling the sudden sting of a swift strike on it. Raven had slapped her yet again.

"Stop questioning me," she demanded. "Everything I do is for the survival of our tribe."

"Really?" Mercury asked as he appeared out of thin air. "You seem to be more out for yourself."

"What?" Vernal gasped. She looked down at the area of dead bandits and Beowulves…only to see them all disappear.

"It's a trap!"

Before they could act, a blast of fire was shot near them, sending them flying into trees and then fall to the ground. Before either of them could recover, they were frozen to the trees, left immobile and unable to defend themselves.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Cinder said as she walked up to them. "The legendary Raven Branwen outsmarted. How disappointing." They tried to break free from the ice, but it was simply too thick for either of them.

"Why don't you use your Maiden powers to free you and Raven?" Cinder taunted Vernal. "Go ahead: let's see it."

"Don't," Raven hastily told the Spring Maiden. Cinder quickly looked over to Raven with a smirk on her face.

"So you're open to reason?" she asked. Raven sighed in frustration at the situation they were in.

"What do you want?" she questioned. The Fall Maiden smiled evilly as Mercury and Emerald entered the area.

"Here's what I want: you and the Spring Maiden will help me get the Relic of Knowledge. Not for Salem, but for myself."

"What?" Mercury gasped, taken completely by surprise at this.

"Are you seriously considering betraying Salem?" Raven asked.

"What of it?" Cinder replied without any remorse for her choice. "I've helped Salem achieve her goal, but she won't help me achieve mine."

"You have the Maiden powers, don't you?" Vernal pointed out.

"I want Pyrrha Nikos and Ruby Rose dead," the Fall Maiden informed. "Salem will allow me to kill Pyrrha, but not Ruby. I want both of them dead."

"What did Ruby do to you that made you hate her so much?" Raven asked. Cinder pointed to her glass eyepatch covering almost all of her left face.

"She did this to me," she growled. "So did Pyrrha. They maimed my body; I want them dead and you will help me get what I want."

"And if I refuse?" Raven asked. "Vernal won't give you the Spring Maiden powers."

"You will help!" Cinder snarled. "Unless…" She gestured for Emerald to walk forward.

Suddenly, Yang appeared in front of them; she was on her knees, beaten and bloodied. Another Cinder slowly walked up to her, a spear in her hand that she used to impale the blonde dragon. Yang gasped for breath as the weapon slowly burned her heart and lungs before Cinder then put her hand on her forehead…and turned her into ashes.

Raven's eyes widened in horror at what just transpired. She came very close to releasing tears, but fought them back in fear of Cinder seeing her weakness.

"Oh, it doesn't bother you?" the red devil asked. "Then maybe she won't mind seeing the many ways her daughter could die. Emerald…"

Yang appeared again and was killed by her head being burned off. Next, she was forced to swallow a small fiery sphere that Cinder conjured, causing her to spasm and choke before she burst into flame. The next was Yang having her head decapitated with a burning chain.

Raven tried to blot out the noise of her daughter being gruesomely killed over and over again, but the small bit of love in her heart demanded that she couldn't ignore it. She fought to hold back her tears, which Cinder noticed and she smiled sadistically as the hallucinations of Yang being killed over and over again continued.

"Alright, stop!" Raven cried out. Cinder gestured for Emerald to stop the hallucinations, which she immediately did.

"We know your daughter is in Mistral," Cinder told her. "So, will you listen this time?" Raven sighed, conceding defeat.

"What do you want?" she asked. Cinder smirked.

"You and Vernal will help ME get the Relic of Knowledge on the night that Haven is attacked. Kill whoever you wish, but what matters to me is getting the Relic out of the Vault. After I have it, you can do as you wish. Disobey me, give me a wrong answer, refuse to cooperate, I will kill Yang and I'll make you watch. Am I made clear?"

"I'll help you," Raven responded begrudgingly. "But do not hurt Yang."

"That depends on your cooperation," Cinder replied. "So, do we have a deal? I get the Relic and Yang lives."

"Yes," Raven agreed.

"Very well." Cinder used her powers to melt the ice holding the two bandits to the trees, allowing them to move again.

"There's an Iron Knight hideout north of Mistral," Mercury informed. "We'll hide there until the attack."

"Fine," Raven replied as she got up onto her feet.

Cinder smiled at this turn of events. She had the Spring Maiden and the Relic of Knowledge in her grasp, especially with Salem unaware of her intention to betray her. She also had the perfect opportunity to kill both Pyrrha and Ruby for maiming her body and she was already thinking of many sadistic ways she could kill them.

"Mercury, Emerald," Cinder whispered to them. "When I go into the Vault, Yang dies." They both nodded their heads in compliance.

-0-

"Whoa," Math gasped as the group entered Silvio's large and luxurious manor, led by Oren and Cole. "Is Silvio okay letting us stay here?"

"I am," Silvio told them as he walked down the stairs.

"Silvio!" Robin addressed. "Are you okay? We heard about the attempt on your life."

"I'm fine, just a bit sore," the Bushi leader responded. "Was anyone hurt in the fire?"

"Concerning us, no," Math informed. "But we've got several more Huntsmen to help."

"Forest, Sterling and Ruadh," Silvio addressed. "One of my commanders told me. I'm happy you're here to help."

"We're glad we made it to help defend Haven," Forest responded. "Thank you for letting us stay here."

"Glad to help," Silvio responded.

"So, you're Silvio Steel?" Ruby asked. "Leader of the militia?"

"He is," Luna responded as she and Aria walked out of the living room to the entry hall. "I take it you're from Beacon. I don't remember seeing any of you at Haven."

"We were Beacon students," Ruby replied. "I'm Ruby Rose. These are my teammates, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long. The other people over there are Qrow Branwen, my uncle, and Oscar Pine."

"I'm Jaune Arc," Jaune introduced. "Since you met Pyrrha, the rest of our team is Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren."

"We're Team COAL," Cole introduced. "I'm Cole Stone. These are my teammates, Oren Fields, Aria Azul and Luna Crescentia."

Unknown to Cole, Luna was completely focused on the veteran scythe user. She had never seen him before, but she recognized his name all too well. Her eyes were widened with shock and surprise at the drunkard.

"Luna?" Aria asked her teammate. She put her hand on the Wolf's shoulder, bringing her back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured. However, Aria could tell something was off about her teammate; she was never one to let her focus down…when she wasn't being a sadist to her enemies.

"Well, breakfast will be ready soon," Silvio told the group. "If you're hungry, the dining room's this way." He led the group to the dining room, but as they walked, Aria pulled Luna aside.

"What's going on?" she requested to know.

"Qrow Branwen," Luna responded. Aria's eyes widened at the mention of that name.

"Oh," she replied. "It's him."

"Yeah," Luna confirmed. "I…"

"Worry about it later," Aria bluntly told the Wolf Faunus. "We've more important matters to worry about."

"I know, I know," Luna replied.

-0-

"Goodwitch was really losing it?" Yang asked. Nasser nodded his head as he ate some rice. Everyone had been served traditional Mistrali breakfast: rice, tamagoyaki, fish, tamago kake gohan, and other foods, all that seemed very foreign to those not native to Mistral. Pyrrha, Ren, Nora and Ruo had to explain what all the foods were to the group, though they still seemed unsure of them. Regardless, they weren't going to turn down breakfast after the attack last night.

"She was hellbent on getting to Beacon. She didn't care how bad she was pushing us; all that mattered to her was taking the Academy back. After my knives were destroyed, I decided I was done and went back home."

"How'd you get that axe and shield?" Nora asked. "They look really cool."

"My father had them made for Cassim, but after…my mom decided to give them to me. I still need some time before I'm as good with them as I was with my knives."

"Well, perhaps we can train later with them," Math suggested. "I'm very familiar with a weapon-and-shield combination. Or even with Forest."

"That sounds good," Nasser replied.

"What happened to Goodwitch?" Qrow asked. "Is she…?"

"She's not dead," Nasser assured. "But she came close to it."

"How so?" Weiss asked.

"The Iron Knights ambushed them after I left," Nasser continued. "Glaucus organized a rescue mission to save her and those who stayed. It was real hectic, but we saved them, though with several casualties. Goodwitch was sent to the hospital to recover."

"Well, I'm just glad she's alright," Qrow replied. "She's a good person."

"But she's going to have to work to repair the damage she caused," Robin added. "From what Nas said, she was being very irrational."

"_I understand Glynda's intentions, but I wish that hadn't happened," _Ozpin told Oscar.

-0-

"You were disinherited?" Ruo gasped as he ate some tamagoyaki. "Why?"

"My father was holding a fundraiser for Beacon," Weiss explained. "In reality, it was just to keep his reputation intact due to the Dust Embargo."

"Why would Ironwood close Atlas's borders?" Ruadh questioned. "Doesn't he realize that by doing so, he's confirming that Atlas is indeed responsible for the Fall of Beacon?"

"He's become very paranoid," Weiss continued. "He believes that they need this until he's certain no one will declare war."

"So, he's keeping all of Atlas's resources to themselves while the rest of the world suffers," Nasser snarked. "Anyway, what happened at the fundraiser?" Weiss remembered that event with disgust, contempt and regret.

"One of the guests said Vale 'deserved what they got' because they lacked the means to defend themselves."

"What?" Math growled. "How can they honestly say that? To dismiss a tragedy like that?"

"The people of Atlas are very arrogant and believe themselves above everyone else," Forest responded. "The rest of the world could burn and they wouldn't care as it doesn't affect them."

"You don't seem to like Atlas that much," Aria pointed out.

"I've been to Atlas many times," the eagle revealed. "Many people there have forgotten basic decency; they only care about themselves, especially among the higher classes."

"Like my father," Weiss admitted. "I got angry at the lady and…I accidentally summoned a Boarbatusk."

"You summoned!?" Ruby gasped. "That's amazing!"

"The circumstances weren't," Weiss snarked. "After that, I told my father I wanted to continue my training as a Huntress; instead, he confined me to the mansion and stripped me of my heritage. He made up a story that the Fall of Beacon was too much trauma for me, so I willingly gave it to Whitley."

"Well, someone earned 'Father of the Year' award," Robin joked. "How'd you managed to get out?"

"My butler, Klein, helped me escape during the night. I came here to hopefully find Winter, my sister-"

"The one Qrow started a fight with," Glaucus brought up, looking over to the drunkard.

"She attacked first," Qrow dismissed. Weiss sighed in annoyance at Ruby and Yang's uncle and how he didn't accept responsibility; Winter threw the first strike, true, but Qrow instigated it.

"I didn't know Winter had gone back to Atlas until the ship I was on crashed. I was captured, but Yang found me."

"Man, I don't want to know what your father's reaction was," Ruo replied.

"I have a pretty good idea," Cole spoke. "A few days after you disappeared, Atlas News spoke to Jacques. He claims that you ran away because the trauma of Beacon had become too much and he didn't see it coming."

"Well, that's a lie," Weiss revealed. "He's probably furious at me for not being his 'perfect little angel'. That's what he does; when his children act out of line or choose to pursue their dreams instead of his own, he disowns them."

"I believe all of this," Nora responded. "But I don't believe you summoned a Boarbatusk; no way." She crossed her arms in a somewhat pouty manner before she heard one of Weiss's glyphs activate. The hammer user looked over to see a white projection of the Boarbatusk Grimm, causing her to fall off her chair and scream while everyone else laughed.

-0-

"How's your new arm holding up?" Ruo asked Yang as she was showing her cybernetic prosthetic.

"It's holding up great," she replied. "It feels natural."

"How durable is it?" Pyrrha asked with interest.

"Very," she answered. She suddenly felt a weight hang on her prosthetic; Ruby had grabbed it and was looking at it with immense amazement.

"How strong is it?" she asked excitedly. Yang smirked as she stood up...and lifted Ruby off the ground with ease.

"Nice," Math complemented. "Did you receive it from Ironwood?"

"I did," she confirmed before sitting down. "Wait...how do you know?"

"He sent prosthetics to several of us," Math explained. He then pulled up his right sleeve to show his arm brace.

"I also received one from him," Pyrrha added. "I'm able to walk like I used to again."

"And you, Robin?" Yang asked the archer. "Were those from Ironwood?"

"They were," he confirmed. "I'm just happy to be able to see again."

"You and me both," Yang responded. "I don't know if I'd be here without it. It's hard to fight when you only have one arm."

"That's true," Math agreed as he looked at his own damaged arm.

"Okay," Nora spoke. "You and I. Arm wrestle later."

"You're on," Yang smirked cockily. "Don't be mad if I win."

"In your dreams," Nora taunted.

-0-

"So, there's no other Huntsmen in Mistral," Forest replied.

"But the Bushi Militia are coming back to help defend Haven," Cole assured.

"The attack is merely a diversion," the eagle informed.

"Diversion?" Glaucus asked.

"I overheard Nachtfel. He's found caverns underneath Haven Academy with support columns that hold the school up; while we're occupied, he plans to have a detachment attach explosives to the columns and cause the Academy to collapse."

"Well, it's certainly a good thing you found this out," Math replied. "We'll be ready for him."

"Well, if you wanted a fight with Nachtfel, it'll have to wait for a while," Forest told him. "He's not leading the assault on Haven."

"He's not?" Math asked with surprise in his tone. "Who is then?"

"One of his disciples," Forest answered. "They call themselves the Oni, the elite Iron Knight warriors. We've fought them before."

"How dangerous are they?" Jinse asked.

"They gave us a hard time," Sterling informed. "They truly are elite warriors."

"They gave you guys a hard time?" Math asked, shocked at how these Iron Knights managed to go toe-to-toe with such a veteran Huntsman.

"Yeah, kid, Forest has his weaknesses too," Qrow shamelessly spoke, much to Math's and Forest's annoyance. The drunkard then felt a hit on his arm, which came from Ruby.

"Come on, Uncle Qrow," she whispered. "Show some manners."

"Well, that aside," Glaucus spoke. "At least we know their plan. We'll be prepared for it when they attack. Did they speak of any backup plans?"

"Not that I heard," the eagle answered. "We shouldn't rule it out. When we manage to stop them from planting the explosives, we'll need to improvise should they enact another plan."

"No argument there," Ruo agreed.

-0-

"Well, as we hoped, people are starting to turn against Darren Moss," Oren informed everyone. "Mr. Steel is doing everything he can to ruin this man and he deserves it for all the atrocities his Wild Hunters have committed."

"I take it he's denying the allegations?" Glaucus assumed.

"As usual," Luna replied with contempt. "He's saying that the Wild Hunters who have been killing humans and targeted Silvio are radicals and are not following his orders. It's nothing but lies; he's doing everything he can to deflect the blame onto them and not himself."

"Typical of people like him," Nasser scoffed. "Sooner or later, people will realize that he's lying and when they do-"

"He could hopefully be arrested for terrorism," Math spoke. "That's technically what he's doing."

"But first, they need to find irrefutable proof that Moss is indeed ordering his followers to kill humans who associate with Faunus," Silvio responded. "Until they find the evidence needed, the worst he'll suffer is bad publicity."

"Just like Jacques Schnee is right now," Aria brought up. Weiss sighed before she could eat some fish, slowly putting it down.

"Because of my disappearance?" she asked.

"He's been suffering a PR fire ever since you ran away," Silvio informed. "Everyone's been accusing him of wrongfully stripping you of your heritage; he did, but he keeps claiming that you willingly gave up your inheritance."

"What about…what about Winter?" Weiss asked? "Has she said anything?"

"From what I've heard from some friends of my father in Atlas, she requested to take some men to come find you and bring you home." Silvio answered. "However, Ironwood refused her request, ordering all Atlas military to remain within the kingdom's borders."

Weiss found some relief. It was heartwarming to know that her sister wanted to find her and bring back to keep her safe; the only thing that prevented it was General Ironwood forbidding her from leaving the kingdom. She knew that if Winter tried to do so, she could be court martialed for disobeying orders.

"As for your father, he's willing to reward any information that may lead to your whereabouts," Aria added. The heartwarming feeling in Weiss's chest faded away as did her soft smile, replaced by contempt.

Her father undoubtedly viewed this as a bruise to his ego, something he never tolerated in the slightest. If she was returned to him, he'd keep her in the manor under lock and key like before, only this time he'd probably be more extreme. He'd be absolutely certain to do everything in his power to destroy Weiss's dreams and make her his 'perfect little angel'.

"_Weiss!" Jacques roared. "Where are you!?" _

"_I'm…I'm here, Father," a 10-year-old Weiss replied as she slowly approached her father. _

"_Why did you leave the fundraiser without my permission!?" he angrily shouted. _

"_I was tired," she answered. "I've been doing recitals all week. I just wanted to rest a bit." _

"_I don't give a damn about your rest!" Jacques snarled. "You are a Schnee and you have responsibilities to your family! You will return to the fundraiser at once." _

"_It's midnight," Weiss cried. "Why can't I go to bed? Please, Father…" _

"_You dare defy me!?" he snarled as he raised his hand. Before he could hit her, he felt someone grab his arm. To Weiss's relief, it was General James Ironwood. _

"_You will do no such thing," he stated. Jacques glared at him. _

"_Do not think you can command me," he snarled. "She is my daughter. Now release me." _

"_No," Ironwood refused. "Hit her and I will inform the other guests of this. How do you think they'll respond to you hitting your own daughter, a defenseless child?" _

_Jacques's expression softened a bit. Ironwood was right; if people were told that he hit his own daughter, this would undoubtedly reflect badly on him. His reputation was already questioned enough as a possibly corrupt businessman; he didn't need a well-respected Atlesian General exposing him as an abuser as well. _

"_Fine then," Jacques conceded. "Weiss, you may go to bed. I'll speak with you later." _

"Weiss?" Jaune asked the Schnee as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" She responded by gently putting her hand on his.

"Just had a bad memory," she admitted.

"Awww~" Yang and Ruby cooed with puppy eyes. "You and Jaune look so cute together~" Weiss looked at them sourly.

"You two are horrible."

-0-

After breakfast, the group gathered in the large living room. Forest, Sterling and Ruadh were informed of everything; however, because of COAL and Silvio being present, they didn't mention the Relics or Salem.

"So Lionheart won't help us?" Sterling asked for clarification.

"Unfortunately," Glaucus confirmed. "The only hope we have of defending Haven is us, Silvio's militia and whatever fighters we can find."

"We could recruit students," Aria suggested. "It's been said before: we need all the help we can get."

"She's right," Yang agreed. "How many militia have returned?"

"Only a few hundred," Cole answered solemnly. "Only about half of what we hoped. We probably have around five hundred militia here."

"With the Iron Knights and White Fang combined, they could outnumber five to one," Qrow brought up. "There's no telling of the forces they'll have."

"Especially with the Berserkers and Oni," Math brought up.

"Berserkers?" Weiss asked.

"During our rescue mission, Iron Knights injected themselves with Dust to turn into musclebound monsters," Nasser answered. "They're reckless, dangerous, and I don't think beating them will be as easy as last time."

"Why do you say that?" Math asked.

"I think what we saw at Beacon was only the prototype," the axe user answered. "We beat them by pushing buttons on their necks that nullified the pain of the Dust being injected into their bodies. They may've worked to improve their designs."

"Man, Nasser, when did you become so smart?" Yang teased, annoying the Achdarr.

"I was smart," he claimed. "I just didn't always show it."

"So, will we recruit students to help us?" Ruo asked. "If so, we'll need to get started soon."

"Don't run yourselves ragged," Gaspar said as he walked down the stairs and into the living.

"Gaspar!?" Weiss gasped. "What're you doing here?"

"Helping the militia," he answered. "After the Fall of Beacon, I came to Haven to continue my training. After Silvio formed the militia, I joined."

"And he's been a big help," Luna informed. "And yes, he told us about how much of a jackass he was back at Beacon, so we understand if you're a bit tense around him."

"That doesn't matter right now," Ruo insisted. "What does is that we get as much help as possible."

"While also destabilizing the Wild Hunt," Luna brought up. "They will cause problems for us. But luckily, we have one of their high-ranking members in a militia safehouse."

"You imprisoned one of them?" Saf questioned. "Aren't you afraid of this backlashing at you?"

"He's been witnessed killing humans, mostly…young children," Luna explained, much to everyone's horror.

"On second thought, feed him whatever horrible food you can come up with," Mat replied, feeling no remorse for the captured Wild Hunter.

"I will," Luna replied with a cocky smile. "As long as the Wild Hunt remains at large, they will make problems for us. We take them down, things can go much smoother."

"Just don't get extreme," Silvio insisted. "I don't want anything bad happening to you."

"Don't worry, babe, I'll be fine," the Wolf Faunus assured. "I'll head out."

As she walked out, she looked over at Qrow Branwen one more time. To him, she was foreign, someone he didn't know; to her however, he was someone she had been searching for years to find. She wanted to talk to him, but she didn't have time with Haven's fate on the line. She'd have to wait until later.

"Again, thanks for letting us stay here," Math told Silvio.

"You're welcome," he replied. "When you want, my militia will show the rooms where you can stay."

"That won't be for a while," Forest told him. "We have work to do."


	20. Rest and Intimacy

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 20: Rest and Intimacy**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Ruo sat atop the balcony of the Steel Manor, looking up at the morning sky. He had barely gotten any sleep due to the attack last night and constantly felt the urge to close his eyes, but fought to keep them open.

Finally, the demand for rest became too much and he closed his eyes, sleeping on the chair he was on.

_After several minutes, he found himself in a field of lilies. He got up to look around, seeing nothing but flowers for miles. He walked around, but stopped when he heard weeping; he turned in the direction of the noise before catching sight of a person further in the fields. He walked towards them and, without even needing to see their face, saw who it was: his mother. _

"_Mom?" he addressed. The White Tiger female looked at him, showing her face to be stained with tears and her eyes red and watery. _

"_I'm sorry," she apologized. _

"_Mom…" Ruo repeated. _

"_I'm sorry for what I did," she apologized once more. "After your father was killed…I lost my way. I became consumed with hatred…and I took it out on you." She slowly got up and reached her arm to him. _

"_I'm so sorry. I dare not ask your forgiveness; I maimed you so much…but I at least want you know if I could undo what I did, I would. You deserve better." _

_Ruo slowly reached out his own hand to touch her fingertips; even the small amount of contact was enough to make his mother's crying stop for a bit. All the White Tigers could do was look at each other; Lihua's expression was of immense regret and self-loathing while Ruo's was conflict of how he should react to seeing his mother again, especially in a dream. _

"_I love you, son," she told him. "I always will…"_

"_Mom…" Ruo weakly spoke. "I…I forgive you." _

_Lihua almost started crying again after hearing those words from her son. Ruo slowly walked up to her and embraced her; Lihua returned it almost immediately. They held each other for several moments before Lihua backed away, her face now calm, but still full of regret for her abuse of Ruo-Jian. _

"_I hope you can find peace, son," she told him. "Ruo? Ruo?" _

"Ruo?" Yang asked, shaking his shoulder and waking him from his sleep. The White Tiger rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out as Yang sat down in the chair next to him.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," she replied back. "I was hoping to find you."

"What do you need?" Ruo asked.

Yang messed with her hair a bit, telling Ruo that she was nervous, a sight he rarely saw from the confident sun dragon. She didn't make eye contact with him, looking as if she was thinking of what to say to the White Tiger.

"I'm sorry," she apologized sincerely, still not looking at him.

"Yang?" Ruo asked.

"I'm sorry for how much of a…how unpleasant I was," she said, finally building up the courage to look at him. Ruo reached out to touch her robotic arm, but she pulled away before he could.

"Yang, you were in a bad place…"

"I know I was," Yang responded. "You came to Patch and you tried to help me. I was so…so angry and feeling sorry for myself that I…I pushed everyone away. You, Ruby, and almost Tai." A tear ran down the sun dragon's cheek, though Ruo used his thumb to wipe it away.

"I…when I said those things, about our relationship being worthless…I hate myself for saying that! It meant so much to me and I'm sorry I drove you away!" By now, Yang was close to bursting into tears from the regret she felt for nearly going down the same selfish road that Raven took.

"I don't know…if you can forgive me-" She was cut off by Ruo reaching his arms out and bringing her in for an embrace. Yang was initially hesitant, but returned it and finally cried into his shoulder, showing the depth of regret she held for what she had done.

"I forgive you, Yang," he told her. "And…I never stopped loving you."

Yang hugged him tighter, needing to hear that he still loved her. Several moments of silence passed for the two wounded souls, but that's all they needed for right now until Yang pulled away and looked at him with her beautiful lilac eyes, full of a need for love, full of hurt from the pain she had endured ever since she lost her mother, Summer Rose.

"Please," she asked quietly. "Can we…have a second chance?"

Ruo didn't answer: his heart, being reminded of his love for Yang, pushed him to kiss her, which she returned. The White Tiger placed his hand on her cybernetic prosthetic, only this time, she didn't pull away from him.

Unknown to them, Qrow walked by the door to the balcony and looked at the two young adults in their liplock before breaking away due to their need for oxygen. Yang slowly reached her hands up and placed them on Ruo's head while he placed his own on her waist. The scythe user smiled at the sight of his niece reconciling with the man she loved.

"I love you, Ruo," she whispered.

-0-

Math stepped out of the bathroom, having showered for the morning. His stomach was full from breakfast and now he needed to rest since he didn't have much time to sleep due to Dagger's attack. He was ready to head up to the bedroom where Silvio's servants had shown them to be.

As he walked down the hallway, Mathdon ran into Gaspar, who seemed rather disappointed.

"Hey, Gaspar," he greeted. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," the Dorado heir answered grimly. "I received a letter from my father."

"What happened?" he asked.

"Ever since the Fall of Beacon, we've lost nearly 20% of all employees," Gaspar revealed. "The most recent was Donovan Katur."

Math's heart skipped a beat after hearing that name again. Once again, he heard the name of the man who had done nothing for him but abuse him and his family.

"_Donovan, this needs to stop!" Corcra told Donovan as a seven-year-old Mathdon looked down the hallway to see his parents in the kitchen. _

"_He needs to stop being stupid!" the man shouted back. "He'll never amount to anything if he can't learn to act right!" _

"_Donovan, you heard what the doctor said," Corcra shot back. "He has Asperger's. His social skills need improvement, but he is not stupid! How dare you call him that!" _

"_It's the truth," Donovan claimed. "And just his social skills need improvement? Are you out of your damn mind?" _

"_Watch your tone," Corcra snarled, pointing a finger at Donovan. "Don't you dare swear at me; I'll not tolerate it." _

"_Oh, but you'll tolerate Math being a complete damn idiot around people? If you keep this up, he'll never amount to anything." _

"_He will!" Corcra told him. "He just needs support, not to be criticized for things he can't control! He didn't ask to have Asperger's, it just happened. You are underselling him." _

"_Don't you get it?" Donovan barked. "He'll never cross the street by himself! He'll never be able to do anything right because he's just a stupid retard!" _

"_Do not call him that," Corcra growled, her tolerance for her husband wearing thin. _

"_Do not tell me what to do," Donovan snarled. "I'm a man and I will not be bossed around." _

"_You're sure not acting like a man." Donovan glared at his wife, hoping she would back down, but she wouldn't. _

"_You don't know shit," he hissed before walking out of the kitchen and knocking several dishes off the drying rack and onto the floor, making a lot of noise that was overwhelming for Math. _

"_Donovan!" she called. "You get back here right now and clean this mess!" The door to the house opened, then Donovan shouted "You need to get your head out of your ass just like Math!" and slammed the door shut. _

The memories flooded back in for Math, completely deaf to what Gaspar was saying.

"_Daddy, it was an accident!" seven-year-old Math cried as he and his father viewed a broken pan on the floor. _

"_I told you to be careful!" he roared. "Why are you so incapable of doing anything right?!"_

"_I didn't mean to!" Math claimed. "I slipped on some water-" _

"_Oh, you slipped on some water, that suddenly makes everything better," Donovan mocked. "Get your head out of your ass. That wasn't an accident, it was stupidity." _

"_But you broke dishes before," the child reminded his father. Donovan glared at his son with immense anger. _

"_You better watch your mouth before I knock some sense into you," he warned in a threatening tone, causing Math to slowly back away into a corner. "You will listen to me because I am your father. Do you understand?" Math didn't respond, scared by his father's outburst. _

"_DO YOU UNDERSTAND!? ANSWER ME NOW, DAMMIT!" _

"_Donovan!" Corcra snapped before walking from behind Math and slapping her husband. "How dare you talk like that to him!" _

"_Shut the hell up!" Donovan told her. "All he had to do was listen and he clearly didn't. This is his fault." _

"_Are you seriously stooping as low as to blame your son for your temper?" she questioned. "Yes, what he did was a bit careless, but you don't need to shout at him like that!" _

"_This isn't my fault!" Donovan selfishly claimed. "Yet here you are, ganging up on me like you always do!" _

"_Ganging…?" she asked in disbelief. "You're lying!" _

"_You know what?" Donovan scoffed. "No, I'm not. I'm not lying; this is his fault, not mine!" _

"_Are you truly incapable of seeing the situation here?" she questioned. "You act as if Math chose this; he didn't have a choice, it just happened. What will it take to get through that thick skull of yours?" _

"_I'm not the one with a thick skull," he claimed angrily. "I'm not the one who's too stubborn to listen to anyone but myself." _

"_There you go again," Corcra barked. "Calling out everyone else's flaws when you hypocritically deny your own." _

"_I don't need to hear this," Donovan scoffed before looking at Mathdon. _

"_Choose your words carefully," Corcra warned her husband. "They better be an apology." _

"_You want an apology?" he mocked. "Okay: I'm sorry I wasted my time with this stupid piece of shit! He'll never amount to anything because he's too stupid to do anything right!" _

"_Get out!" Corcra demanded. "Now!" _

"Math?" Gaspar called, snapping him out of his flashbacks. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he quickly answered. "I need to go rest." He headed up to the bedroom he was shown, hastily entered and laid on the bed. Not only did he need the rest for not getting much sleep last night, but he also needed to clear his mind of those horrible memories.

About an hour passed before Math felt the bed shift a bit and then felt a light weight on his chest. Math woke up to see Pyrrha snuggling up to him.

"Hey, Pyrrha," he quietly greeted.

"Hello," she replied, moving her head to look up at him. "How are you?"

"I'm just tired," he answered. "The attack and all-"

"Gaspar told me what happened," Pyrrha interrupted. "After he mentioned your father's name, you seemed out of it." Math let out a heavy breath.

"I…I guess I still haven't come to terms with what happened," he assumed. "Why can't I just forget him for good?"

"Because you're holding onto the past," Pyrrha stated. "You're holding onto your pain. You need to let go."

"I…" he stopped as he thought about how to reply. "I guess it's not as easy as I thought."

"No one said it would," she told him. "But for your sake…" She gently kissed his lips, which Math returned.

The simple kiss turned into a passionate one as the two of them wrapped their arms around each other. Math moved his lips down to kiss her neck, making her give out several moans as she kissed his head. The kissing started to get very heated, Math pushing Pyrrha onto her back and feeling Pyrrha's smooth and soft skin.

"Math...wait," she spoke, putting her hand between their lips as he tried to kiss her again. "I'm...I'm not sure anymore."

"What do you mean?" Math asked. "Pyrrha..." He paused, turning his face away from his beloved. In his heart, he knew he wanted her for himself. He wanted this intimacy with her, with the woman he cherished and loved more than anyone.

"I'm sorry," she apologized regretfully. "Math, my love...when I said I wanted you to make love to me, I..." She thought carefully of what to say next. She waited a few moments before she gave her response to her beloved.

"I was emotional and I...I wanted comfort from you. I felt...that if we made love, I'd feel better. But now that I've thought about it...I feel we need to wait. I'm so sorry, Math."

She half-expected Math to be angry and upset with her. She felt that she had used him during moments of emotional vulnerability and she felt disgusted with herself for doing so. She too wanted that intimacy with the man she loved, but the circumstances were not ideal for it. She wanted them to make love as a way of expressing their passion and love for each other, not as a means of seeking comfort from the trauma of Beacon.

All Math did was get off Pyrrha and laid next to her, then held her hand. She couldn't help but look at him with immense regret for how she felt.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized to her beloved. Math let out a heavy breath as he laid beside Pyrrha, still holding her hand.

"If you feel that you used me, Pyrrha...then I forgive you," he replied. "But I think it is best that we wait." Pyrrha smiled at him and held him close to her.

"Thank you," she replied, snuggling up to him.

-0-

Forest was in the backyard, practicing his swordsmanship with Rohkeus. His skill was nearly flawless, throwing strike after strike as if fighting against an actual opponent.

In the back of his mind, he was sorely tempted to leave Ozpin. The man couldn't be trusted, not after what he did to Mathdon and Pyrrha, especially her. He never imagined that Ozpin would cross such a line like that, but then again, he wasn't surprised.

_A younger Forest burst into Ozpin's office, his face contorted with anger and disbelief. Before the Headmaster could speak, the eagle slammed his hands on the desk. _

"_You lying bastard!" he snarled. _

"_What are you talking about?" Ozpin asked. _

"_You knew Grimm would be there," Forest added. "You knew, didn't you?" _

"_I suspected that there were Grimm, but I didn't know for sure," Ozpin claimed. "I felt that if I did, it'd cause unnecessary anxiety and negativity. I felt it was the safer option." _

"_Safer option?" Forest barked. "Are you out of your mind? We would've been prepared for that attack if we had known there was a possible Grimm breeding ground near there." _

"_I didn't anticipate the bandits' attack," the Headmaster responded. _

"_Maybe not, but you should've told us about the possibility of Grimm being nearby! Trenton is dead!" Ozpin's expression changed from stern and stoic to sympathy for the loss of such a promising warrior. _

"_Trenton sacrificed himself to give the villagers time to escape when the Grimm attacked! I blamed myself until Glaucus told me he overheard you talking about the Grimm breeding ground! You didn't suspect, you knew!" _

"_I did it because I believed it was the safest option. I didn't know the bandits would attack." _

"_What did you think was going to happen? You sent us there to find the Summer Maiden and now, because we weren't prepared for a Grimm attack of that size, we lost both her and Trenton. His blood is on your hands." _

"_He knew what he was signing up for. I told you all the danger Salem poses." _

"_But you won't stop keeping important information from us! How many more people have to die before you realize that your 'subtle and analytical ways' will bring more harm than good? How many more have to die!?" _

"_That's enough!" Ozpin barked, rising from his seat. "I…I do what I have to so we prevent the spread of panic. I have to play some things close to the chest." _

"_You play EVERYTHING close to the chest," Forest stated. "And I'm done." _

"_Done?" Ozpin asked, unsure of what the eagle swordsman meant. _

"_I'm done with your lies and hypocrisy." Ozpin raised an eyebrow. _

"_Lies and-?" _

"_Yes, lies and hypocrisy. You claim to have great faith in humanity, yet you keep important information from everyone, including your closest allies. You preach about the need to trust others and your teammates, but you clearly don't trust us. You want everything to be your way…and it cost Trenton his life! I am done serving you!" _

Forest never regretted his decision to leave behind Ozpin. The man was a manipulator, a liar, a hypocrite, and definitely untrustworthy. He wouldn't stop keeping important information from everyone, including his own allies. He expected everyone to do things his way, showing that he needed to be in control.

He had the nerve to enlist Math and his team against Valkoin, against an enemy they barely knew. If Forest, Sterling and Ruadh hadn't been there, Team MRRN would've been killed.

Then he did it again by making Math Pyrrha's guardian. Again, he was vague and kept much information out of the conversation. To him, everyone was expendable in his war against Salem, something that angered Forest.

"Mr. Kotka?" a voice addressed. Forest looked back to see Ruby and Yang together. The eagle sheathed his sword and deactivated his gauntlet shield.

"Just call me Forest," he insisted. "What can I do for you?"

"Did you really know Mom?" Yang asked.

"Raven?" Forest asked. "Yes, I knew her-"

"Not Raven," Yang interrupted. "Summer."

Forest's expression dropped a bit and fell silent. They just said the name of the woman he was once in love with, but left her due to no longer tolerating Ozpin's ways of leadership. Even around his own two teammates, Forest was very hesitant to talk about her.

"I knew her," he forced himself to say. "She was a good woman and a great Huntress. Who told you I knew her?"

"Raven," Yang informed. "We didn't know Summer very long, so…"

"I understand," Forest responded.

"When I first met her, she was a bit withdrawn and shy, but also very kind and caring; she'd do whatever she could to help her friends and teammates. When I saw her for the first time, I thought…I thought she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever met, before we were interrupted by Tai."

"Dad?" Ruby asked. "What do you mean?"

"Your father back then was nothing like the man he is now," Forest informed. "Back then, he was a real ladies' man, had a big ego and thought very highly of himself. He was a real showoff, loving to 'display' his martial arts skills to young women…and no woman was ever safe from his flirting."

"Including Summer?" Yang chuckled, finding it funny to know how immature her father used to be.

"Not really," Forest denied. "Like most of the young men, he was interested in Raven; every young man wanted to date her, but she always turned them down."

"What was she like?" Yang asked, wondering how her mother used to be.

"At first, she was very antisocial, very stoic, not wanting to be around people. Qrow pushed her to be more social; in time, she warmed up to Summer and Tai and then my team, though she thought his advances on her were a waste of time. Tai eventually came up with a plan to get her to date him."

"What'd he do?" Ruby questioned.

"Challenged her to a fight. If he won, she'd go on a date with him; if she won, he'd leave her alone. Tai won and they started dating after that. Because of it, Raven became more social, more cheerful and kinder while Tai became less egotistical and more mature."

"And you and Mom?"

"She and I…we dated for years, even into when we served Ozpin. I truly did love her and, several times, we brought up the idea of settling down, getting married and having a family."

"Why didn't it happen?" Yang asked with a curious scowl. Forest let out a heavy breath, remembering the day he finally had enough.

"Ozpin sent us on a mission to secure one of the Maidens, but kept important information from us. My teammate, Trenton Brownwood, was killed by Grimm, who we were unprepared for. I finally had enough of Ozpin's 'leadership' and left. Summer tried to convince me to stay, saying we need to stand together to defeat Salem, but I couldn't stay. The day I left Ozpin's group was the day Summer and I ended our relationship; any time we talked after that was me trying to convince her to leave and her trying to get me to come back. We…we didn't patch things up before…" He noticed the expressions of loss and sorrow on the faces of the two sisters, making him stop.

"Why did Raven leave?" Yang asked. "Was it because of Ozpin?"

"I'd say so," Forest replied. "As she started to doubt Ozpin like I did, her personality changed to her old one, but was much more selfish, hypocritical, and callous. She believed that Salem cannot be beaten, so…after she had you, she took it as her opportunity to run away and get out of the conflict."

"Well, she made a bad choice," Yang replied. "She was harboring the Spring Maiden." Forest's eyes widened in surprise.

"She was harboring the Spring Maiden?" he asked. "How'd you find out?"

"Uncle Qrow did," Ruby answered. "But there was a huge problem."

"What problem?" the eagle veteran asked.

"We think Leo's working for Salem," Yang informed. "We believe he gave her the coordinates to Raven's camp. It was attacked and, by the time Qrow got there, Raven's trail had gone cold."

"How long ago was this?" he asked.

"Yesterday," Yang answered. "Qrow told us what happened, but the attack itself happened almost a week ago."

"Dammit," Forest growled. "If it's been that long, I may not be able to find their trail, meaning Salem may have the Maiden. If she does…she'll be a step closer to getting the Relic of Knowledge. I need to go tell Sterling and Ruadh." He started to walk off, but before he got far, Yang called out to him.

"Before you got here, I made Ozpin promise to stop telling lies and half-truths. Do you think he'll keep that promise?"

"I asked the same thing of him and he didn't stop," Forest revealed. "I don't care what Qrow says; Ozpin cannot be trusted." He then walked back into the manor to find his teammates and inform them of the situation with the Maiden. Yang and Ruby just stood there, wondering about their decision to get involved in the war since Forest stated that Ozpin would most likely not honor his promise.


	21. Love and Hatred

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 21: Love and Hatred**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

"Are you sure about this, Blake?" Sun asked as he, Blake and Akela were about to approach the area where Ilia agreed to give over the evidence needed to bring down the White Fang, which was a ways away from the Belladonna home.

"This may be our chance to stop the White Fang," Blake answered. "If we get this evidence, we can turn Menagerie against the White Fang and prove that they were the ones responsible for the Grimm attack."

"I don't like it," Akela expressed. "For all we know, she could be lying."

"I know she could," Blake acknowledged. "But it's a chance we need to take. If I recognized the errors of the White Fang, shouldn't she be able to?"

"I guess," Sun replied. "I mean, I wouldn't support the White Fang if it meant attracting Grimm to kill innocent people."

"Just be careful," Akela told the Black Cat.

"I will," Blake assured. As requested, Akela and Sun made their way up onto the rooftops to keep an eye out. Blake then walked down into the dark alleyway alone, using her night vision to find Ilia, which she did after she turned off her camouflage.

"Sorry, Blake," she apologized as she walked into the open.

"It's okay, Ilia," Blake responded. "I'll talk to my father; once he knows you helped us-"

"No," Ilia interrupted, a scowl of conflict on her face. "I'm sorry." She closed her fist, signaling for two Faunus to attack from above. While the Bat Faunus, Yuma, kicked her to the ground and caused her weapon to fall off her back, the other Faunus, a Spider names Trifa, used her webs to capture the cat.

"Well done," Yuma congratulated them. He then pulled out Ilia's whip and tossed it to her.

"You lied!" Blake called out. "I trusted you!"

"And I trusted you!" Ilia barked. "You were my friend. We needed you by our side."

"To terrorize and kill innocent people?" Blake questioned. "What world do you live in where terrorism is the right thing to do?"

"The same one as you!" Ilia shouted. "For as long as we existed, humanity has hated us just for being who we are. We've been beaten, enslaved, treated like animals, caged, mistreated…did you really think we wouldn't have a breaking point?"

"That's why my father founded the White Fang," Blake reminded Ilia. "He wanted to help people. He wanted to create equality between us and the humans."

"Your father was a coward," Yuma spoke. "He cared more about playing nice with the humans than protecting us. I would know because I served under him alongside you. Or have you forgotten me along with yourself?"

"What do you mean by that?" Blake questioned.

"He means that damn bow you used to wear!" Ilia snarled. "You want people to accept us, but you hid yourself out of fear of being judged. You are no better than the humans who stand by and let us suffer."

"I recognize what I did," Blake responded. "I did hide myself, but I'm trying to make things right. I'm trying to help the Faunus."

"By convincing them to give their lives for the same species who put us here in the first place?" Ilia scoffed. "Have you forgotten what they did to us? To Adam's parents? To Adam himself? To MY parents?!" Ilia's angry scowl slowly cracked as her eyes began to water from the truth she still didn't want to face: her family would never come back.

"You didn't suffer like we did, Blake. You don't have a brand on your face like Adam. You didn't watch your parents die because they wanted better lives for their people. You didn't watch your friends laugh at your parents being killed in a Dust Mine accident. What right do you have to preach about what's best for us?"

"Adam is on a warpath," Blake answered. "If this keeps going, it could start a war, one that'll cost countless lives. We're trying to prevent that."

"It's the only way!" Ilia claimed. "We're tired of watching our friends and families die just for being who they are! Don't you remember what those filthy humans did to Akela's father?"

From afar, Akela tightened his fist at the mention of his father. He remembered perfectly well what happened to him.

_A ten-year-old Akela watched from the shrubbery as racist humans drags Bhediya across the dirt and to a tree where a rope was hung. They proceeded to tie the rope around Bhediya's neck, wanting to see him hang._

_Akela wanted to save his father, but there was nothing he could do. The humans were all adults and numbered several dozens, meaning that if he tried to help his father, he'd most likely be killed as well. _

_The humans then pulled Bhediya up with the rope and watched him choke and struggle to break free. The humans laughed as the Faunus father was being slowly hung to death and deprived of oxygen. _

"_Hey, look at this," one of the humans shouted before throwing a tomato at Bhediya. Everyone started laughing before more items were thrown at the Wolf Faunus, including fruit, dirt, and anything they could find. _

_Akela looked away as his eyes watered with tears. How could humanity be so cruel as to kill and mock a person just for being different? Why did they find such pleasure in doing so? _

"_There's another one!" one of the humans called out as they pointed to Akela. The young wolf quickly made a run for it, begrudgingly leaving his father behind. _

"_Get that little shit!" one of the humans shouted. Akela hurried through the forest, hoping to outrun the humans until he tripped over a thick root and sprained his ankle. _

"_There he is!" one of the humans grinned. "Let's skin him."_

"_Stay away from him!" Bhaal roared as he charged forward and used his claws to eviscerate the human's face and proceed to kill the others before the rest ran off. _

"_Akela," Bhaal addressed. "What happened? Where's your father?" All Akela could do was cry for the brutal death of Bhediya Dhoosar. _

"I'm surprised Akela's not on our side," Yuma brought up.

"Because he's not consumed by hatred," Blake stated before looking at Ilia. "Do you really believe this what your parents would've wanted? To see you murder innocent people?"

"My parents…" Ilia hesitated, but Blake could see the conflict in her friend's eyes. She knew deep down that her parents would not condone the path she had chosen for herself, a path of violence. Her parents would not be proud of the fact that she willingly aided in terrorism. Ilia came close to crying, but wiped the tears away to regain her composure.

"Maybe they wouldn't," she admitted. "But they didn't want to be subjected to discrimination either. They didn't want to suffer in slavery and they especially didn't want people laughing at them for dying in a Dust Mine!"

"They also didn't want you to murder innocent people!" Blake claimed.

"That's enough," Trifa insisted. "We need to move before the attack happens."

"Attack?" Blake gasped; she thought for a few moments before it clicked in her head.

"You're attacking Mom and Dad!?"

"We don't have a choice," Ilia reluctantly answered. "As long as they're in the way, we will never know freedom."

"Oh no," Akela gasped. "If they mean to attack-"

"Akela, get back to them," Sun insisted. "I'll stay here." Akela nodded his head and quietly moved away, leaving Sun to watch over Blake.

"I won't let you do this!" Blake shouted.

"I wish it didn't have to be this way," Ilia claimed. "I wish we didn't have to do all this. I wish we didn't have to resort to hurting people, but humanity pushed us to this. We're done being treated like animals! We're done with the abuse and everything!" Ilia calmed down from her rant.

"But it is what it is. And you must answer for your betrayal, which is why we're sending you to Mistral, to Adam." Blake's eyes widened in shock at this revelation.

"Ilia, don't do this," she pleaded. "This isn't who you are."

"Then what I am if not a fighter for our people?" Ilia questioned. "What am I supposed to be if I don't fight for the Faunus? There are millions of Faunus with the same story as mine, with the same story as Akela's. Why can't you understand? We just…" She sniffled.

"I just want the hatred to stop. And this is the only way to do it, then so be it."

"Are those your words, Ilia, or Adam's?" Blake challenged.

"We've wasted enough time," Yuma claimed. "You know the plan. Trifa, get her to the boat. Ilia and I must join our brothers and sisters." Yuma flew off to join in the assault on the Belladonna home while Ilia stood there, unsure of what to do anymore.

She kept thinking back to her parents. She'd imagine they'd be very disappointed in her for aiding in the White Fang's terrorism, but Ilia was convinced that the Faunus must show they're done being pushed around like they didn't matter. She remembered her friends at the Atlas school after learning of the accident that killed her parents.

"_Wow, what dumb Faunus! No wonder they can't be more than slaves!" _

"_I guess we need a stupid species to make us the smart ones!" _

"_Oh, please. We're always the smartest ones; we'd never cause an accident like that." _

"_We should put them back in cages. That's where animals belong after all." _

"Sister Ilia!" Trifa called out. "Get moving!"

"Yes," she replied before activating her camouflage and disappearing.

"Let's go, traitor," Trifa demanded as she used her webs to force Blake onto her feet.

"Now!" Blake called out. Immediately, Sun leapt down and knocked Trifa unconscious. Freeing herself from the webs, Blake reached over to grab her weapon and place it on her back.

"Where's Akela?" she asked.

"He's gone back to warn your parents," Sun responded. Blake's scroll suddenly went off, so she pulled it out of her jacket pocket to show Akela's name and answered it.

"Akela?" Blake addressed.

"_Blake, you and Sun need to get back here now," _the Wolf Faunus informed. _"Some of your father's guards are attacking him." _

"What!?" Blake gasped.

"_They must be White Fang infiltrators," _Akela assumed. _"You need to hurry." _

"We're on our way," Blake told the Wolf before hanging up. "Sun, let's go!" The two Faunus hurried back to the Belladonna home, hoping to reach Blake's family in time.

-0-

After Pyrrha stepped out of the shower, she dressed herself in a bathrobe and started brushing her hair as she looked in the mirror. Her mind was occupied with what happened earlier with Mathdon.

She still felt regret for how she felt about the situation, that she had used him for comfort during moments of emotional distress. Had they consummated their relationship, it would've been as a means for Pyrrha to deal with her emotional trauma, not as a display of true affection and love as she felt it should be. She didn't know how Math would react when she told him of why she had changed her mind and wished to wait until further down the line...maybe until they were married.

To Pyrrha, marriage seemed inevitable. They had been through so much together, had developed a relationship much more than just boyfriend and girlfriend, and had remained together through every trial that had been thrown their way. She wanted to marry Math, she wanted to spend her life with the young man who she had fallen deeply in love with. She couldn't bear the thought of another woman becoming his wife and having his children.

She was thankful that Math forgave her for seemingly using him for a means of comfort. He too had changed his mind and wished to wait until further down the line to go all the way.

When she was done brushing her hair, she walked out of the door...not seeing Luna and bumping into her.

"Luna!" she addressed. "I'm so sorry. I…" She stopped when she noticed that Luna was wearing something latex on her arm, which she quickly hid behind her back.

"Luna?" Pyrrha asked nervously. "What are you wearing?"

"It's nothing," she assured. "It's…just something I wear to bed, helps me sleep."

"But Silvio said your bedroom is that way," Pyrrha informed the Wolf Faunus, pointing down the hallway Luna just came from. The Wolf Faunus growled mentally at herself for Pyrrha pointing that out.

"Yeah, well…I'm just heading out for a bit…so I'll be back in a little…" When Luna moved, her latex legging was revealed, much to her and Pyrrha's shock.

"You…wear that to bed?" the Amazon asked nervously.

"Everyone sleeps differently," Luna claimed, hiding her leg.

"_You have got to be shitting me. How do I explain this to her without…without letting her know I'm…crap. Come on Luna, think, think! I know-"_

"You're not wearing that to bed," Pyrrha called out. "You're going to see Silvio, aren't you?"

"What?" Luna chuckled. "No…this is part of my old outfit. I…decided not to wear it anymore because everyone said-"

"Hey, guys," a third voice greeted, belonging to Ruby Rose. Both Pyrrha and Luna looked over with horror on their faces as the still innocent scythe user looked in surprise at the woman in a bathrobe and leather.

"Um…what's going on?" Ruby asked, unsure of how to react.

"Ruby!" Pyrrha addressed. "Uh...we...we were just taking showers."

"Yeah, in different bathrooms," Luna added. Unknown to the Wolf Faunus, the reaper Huntress caught sight of the latex arm sleeve she was wearing on her other arm.

"Why are you wearing leather?" Luna's eyes widened and looked down at her other arm before hiding it behind her back too.

"It's…part of my old outfit," she claimed. "It…helps me fall asleep better."

"Why would you need to wear that to the shower?" Ruby asked curiously.

"_Oh," _Pyrrha mentally groaned. _"Yang's not going to be happy when she learns about this." _

"I wear it…because…" She thought for several seconds, hoping to come up with an answer to prevent Ruby from possibly deducing the same conclusion as Pyrrha. Her salvation came when her scroll rang loudly, so she quickly picked it up, especially after seeing Silvio's name.

"Hello?" she greeted. "Hey, Oren…you need me to help you? Okay, on my way." She then hung up.

"Have to go. Bye." She quickly took down the hall, sighing a breath of relief now that she had gotten away from the very awkward situation.

"I have to go too, Ruby," Pyrrha told the scythe user. "Good night." She quickly ran to her room, hoping to get the awkward encounter out of her mind.

-0-

Luna quickly hurried to Silvio's room and opened the door; when she did, she blushed at the sight of her boyfriend's toned torso. The Steel quickly turned around in shock before gasping for breath.

"You scared me, Luna," he told her.

"Sorry," she apologized. "Had a run-in with some other people."

"So, are you ready?" he asked her.

"Actually, before we start," Luna started, her scowl serious and solemn. "There's something I need to talk about."

"What is it?" Silvio asked. Luna sat down next to her boyfriend on the bed and held his hand.

"You know that male scythe user we met today?"

"You mean the one with the bad hair and red cape?"

"Well…yeah. That's Qrow Branwen."

"Qrow?" Silvio questioned. "As in…the Qrow you've been wanting to find?"

"Yes," she answered.

It had happened now. She had found the Huntsman she had been searching for years to find. She had imagined all kinds of scenarios of how it'd play out, but she didn't even speak to him. Instead, she had kept her distance in fear of accidentally doing something to embarrass herself.

"Have you told anyone else?" Silvio asked.

"Only Aria," Luna responded. "It's near impossible to keep a secret from her."

"Yeah, it is," Silvio chuckled. "So…when do you plan on talking to him, to Qrow?"

"To be honest, I don't know. I couldn't say a single word to him today…and I truly don't know what to say to him."

"Well, take your time," Silvio insisted. "In time, you'll hopefully know what to tell him."

"I hope so," Luna replied. The Steel leaned over and pecked her cheek, making the Wolf smile.

"Thanks, Silvio," she told him before a seductive grin stretched across her face and she slowly took off her robe. "Now, let's have some fun."

-0-

Nasser swung Hafashahn again as he stood by the pool in the moonlight. He knew he needed improvement in his skills with his axe and shield, so he resolved to do it as best he could.

"Hello," a voice greeted, breaking Nasser out of his concentration. He looked back to see Jinse sitting on the roof of the poolhouse, her eyes turned towards the Achdarr.

"Hey," he greeted. "What do you need?"

"Nothing much," the Lioness responded. "It just feels good to have some time away from fighting and such."

"Agreed," Nasser complied. "So, how's Ruo doing ever since…what happened?"

"I feel he's finally ready to move on," Jinse replied. "He needs to, for his sake."

"It's just messed up what happened," the axe wielder said solemnly. "Grant straight up lied to his face about the whole thing. We humans really are the worst."

"Anyone is capable of evil," Jinse told him. "Faunus are often no better, especially those in the White Fang."

"Is it true what Ruo said? About…Jhin?"

Jinse was silent in response to the question. Almost every time her son's name was brought up, she had resist the urge to break down into tears from the terror of that morning when she held her son's dead body.

"Yes," she reluctantly answered.

"Damn," Nasser responded. "I knew people were racist against the Faunus, but…not that racist."

"Unfortunately, humanity fears what they don't understand," the Lioness said. "Fear leads to hate and that's why the humans and Faunus have hated each other for as long as we've existed."

"That's really deep," Nasser complimented.

"You seem to understand hatred."

"Oh, trust me; I know it perfectly well." Jinse leaned forward with interest in hearing Nasser if he was interested in sharing his story.

"After my father died in Vacuo, my family moved to Vale. My brother, Cassim, went to go get our father's inheritance; instead of bringing it back for the family, he stole it for himself and left us in near poverty. During those next years, he'd only call if he wanted something from us and he'd call us out for 'being selfish' if we didn't help him. When he finally came back…" His blood boiled as he remembered the events dueing the Vytal Tournament.

"He claimed to have changed, but he forged a document that would see us kicked out into the streets while he got more money. He threatened to turn Ruo over to the police if I didn't let him have his way and he…that selfish bastard continued to justify his choices and act like he was doing nothing wrong!" He threw Hafashahn into the concrete, its blade piercing the pavement.

"Where is he now?" Jinse asked.

"Dead. The bank we were near exploded and Cassim was killed. If that explosion hadn't happened, I would've…I would've…"

"You would've wanted to kill him," Jinse finished. Nasser let out a sigh of frustration, then pulled the axe out of the ground.

"I…I mean, I felt if I didn't, either my family or my friend would suffer for Cassim's selfishness. I just…"

"It is good you didn't kill him," Jinse insisted.

"Why?" Nasser questioned. "I would've done it to keep my family and friend safe."

"Would it? Or would it have been out of hatred?"

Back then, Nasser wouldn't have cared if it had been out of hatred. Cassim had wronged their family and planned to do it again, all the while feeling no remorse for his actions and believed they were justified due to his greed. He would've felt no shame for killing him if it meant saving his friend and family from Cassim's selfishness.

However, after seeing what it had driven Ruo to do, he wasn't so quick to believe he made the best choice. He had seen what hatred can do to people, even the good-hearted like Ruo. It could turn them into something ugly and terrifying, just like Nachtfel, just like Adam Taurus, and just like so many who hated the entirety of the Huntsmen for the actions of a few.

"Maybe you're right," he admitted. "Maybe it's best that…I didn't kill him, but I'm not going to weep for him."

"I'm not saying you have to," Jinse replied. She then leapt down from the roof and walked up to the axe user.

"Nasser, I know you don't know me that much, but please always remember this: hatred is poison, always and no matter who it is." She then walked back inside the manor to get some sleep, leaving Nasser by himself.

Hatred is poison. That's all she said, those three simple words, yet they spoke very loudly. There was no need for a long speech or a comparison or anything; he understood perfectly well Jinse's words, which she may've undoubtedly said to Ruo.

**Author's Notes: I'll be going on a retreat on July 11****th**** around 5:30 P.M. western time. I won't be back until July 14****th**** around possibly 2:00 P.M. If you send any messages my way, I won't be able to answer them until I get back. I hope you continue enjoying this series. **


	22. Belladonna Battle

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 22: Belladonna Battle**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

"Chieftain!" Akela called out as he made it to the Belladonna Estate. Unfortunately, the sounds of battle could already be heard from outside, meaning the attack had begun. He rushed up the stairs to see two of Ghira's guards appear…only they were wearing White Fang masks.

"What?" the Wolf Faunus gasped. "Why have you turned against your Chieftain?"

"The Belladonnas are traitors and must be dealt with as such," one of the White Fang members replied. "You have supported them, Akela Dhoosar. For that, you must die."

They attacked him with their naginatas, thrusting and slashing at him with ferocity. Akela blocked their attacks with his arms before grabbing his bow and using it as a club to knock the two blades away. With the opportunity in hand, Akela drew two arrows and shot the turncoats.

With the way clear, he rushed inside to see Ghira and several of his guards in the entry hall, holding off White Fang forces despite being outnumbered three to one. Akela drew three arrows and used them to take down three White Fang members, greatly reducing the odds against Ghira and his guards.

"Akela!" Ghira called out. "Where's Blake?"

"Sun's with her," he answered, causing the Chieftain to groan. "What's the situation?"

"Many of our guards just started attacking us," Ghira informed. "Kali and Bhaal are in the house, but I don't know where exactly. Please, go find them; we'll hold them here."

Akela nodded and hurried down the hallway to find Kali or Bhaal. From where he was, he could hear fighting, slashing and screaming from all over the house, along with several dead Belladonna guards. They wouldn't have had time to prepare for this surprise attack, especially with the White Fang disguised as the Belladonnas' guards.

"Get out of my house!" Kali's voice shouted from down the left right hallway. Akela quickly made his way down the left and to the living room, where he saw several White Fang firing at Kali, who was taking cover behind a table turned on its side and a dead guard beside her.

"Akela!" one of the White Fang called out. "Kill him!" Akela rushed to a chair and took cover behind it, hearing the bullets ricochet off the furniture as they were fired.

"Are you okay, Ms. Belladonna?" the Dhoosar asked as he nocked an arrow.

"I'm fine," she assured. "Where's Blake?"

"She's with Sun," Akela answered. "She's on her way here."

"And you're on your way to hell!" Yuma shouted as he came in through the ceiling and kicked the table Kali was hiding behind, knocking her out into the open. The Bat then smiled sadistically as he grabbed Kali's throat and started to choke her.

Taking quick action, Akela nocked three arrows and fired at the White Fang; the two members holding firearms were shot dead, but Yuma used his wing to deflect the arrow aimed at him.

Akela charged over and pummeled Yuma to the floor, allowing Kali to get up onto her feet. The two scuffled for a bit, resulting in Akela throwing Yuma against the wall and then pushing a bookshelf onto him.

"We need to go," Akela told the Belladonna as they left the room. "This place is flooding with White Fang."

"Why would our guards betray us?" Kali responded. "Do they truly have no faith in my husband?"

"The White Fang had to have killed those guards and taken their place," Akela assumed. "Adam has ordered you and Ghira dead."

"Then he's truly lost his mind," Kali stated as they made their way into the dark dining room. "Ordering a direct attack on us?"

"Move!" Akela warned Kali as they were fired upon by White Fang. The two of them quickly took cover behind pillars, shielding them from the enemy's barrage.

"Mrs. Belladonna!" a nearby warrior of Bhaal's addressed before shooting one of the White Fang, aided by several others. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she answered. "Where's Ghira?"

"At the entrance, holding off any more intruders," Akela answered. Just then, he heard a female gasp of pain and quickly looked to see Yuma having stabbed Kali in the stomach with a knife.

"No," the Dhoosar whispered before shooting an arrow at Yuma; this time, the arrow shot the Bat's wing, causing him to let go of the knife and fall to his knees. Akela then snarled and hit Yuma in the face with his bow, knocking him away from Kali.

"Mrs. Belladonna!" he addressed, helping her remove the knife. As soon as it was pulled out, her clothes started to stain red.

"Get over here!" Akela demanded from one of Bhaal's warriors. With the White Fang's numbers dwindled in the firefight, one of them made their way to Akela and Kali while the Dhoosar used some of his clothing to wrap around the Belladonna's torso.

"Mrs. Belladonna," Bhaal's warrior gasped after seeing she was wounded.

"Get her to safety," Akela ordered. "If she stays here, she'll die."

"The entire place is swarming with White Fang," the warrior pointed out. "It'll be difficult."

"I…I may know a few ways out that they don't," Kali replied weakly as the warriors helped her to her feet. "Take me back to the study."

"I'll cover you," Akela stated as the three of them made their way out of the dining room.

-0-

Ghira threw a White Fang member into the ground and then kicked another into the wall. Their numbers were too great, but they had to hold as long as they could for reinforcements to arrive.

Unfortunately, things were looking bleak for the Chieftain: most of his guards were dead and the White Fang's numbers seem infinite. Just then, the last of his guards fell dead, killed by Fennec Albain with a dagger.

"Chieftain Ghira Belladonna," Corsac addressed next to him. "High Leader Taurus has condemned you a traitor to the White Fang. For your treason and speaking out against us, you shall die."

"Treason?" Ghira growled. "All I wanted to do was to help our people. I understand you don't see eye-to-eye with my leadership-"

"Your 'honorable leadership' is useless," Fennec interrupted. "Once we've disposed of you and your wife, then Menagerie will know what happens when you cross the White Fang."

Ghira snarled as he protracted his claws and threw his coat aside. He growled at the Albains before giving out a loud roar.

"Kill him!" the Albains ordered. More White Fang rushed into the house, their weapons ready to kill the leader of Menagerie. Just before they could, two figures jumped in front of them and knocked several of the White Fang back.

"Blake!" Ghira gasped as the two figures were his daughter and the kleptomaniac.

"Dad!" Blake responded. "Where's Mom?"

"She's here somewhere," the Chieftain responded. "Akela's already gone to find her, but the rest of the house is being overrun. Go and help them."

"But Dad-"

"You keep assuring me that your friend isn't a complete waste of space. Let him prove it."

"It's okay, Blake," Sun assured. "We can handle these guys." The Cat nodded and quickly rushed back into the house, leaving Ghira and Sun to hold the front line against the Albains.

"I won't let you down," Sun told Ghira.

"Shut up and fight," he demanded.

-0-

Akela and Kali were making their way to the study, slowly approaching the entrance. The Dhoosar covered their rear, making sure no one was following them.

"Here we are," Bhaal's warrior informed as he opened the door to the study and took Kali inside. Before Akela could enter, he was kicked to the ground by Yuma, who had recovered and pursued them with the goal of killing Kali after doing so to the wolf.

"Close and barricade the door!" Akela told the warrior. Yuma got off him to go after Kali, but the Dhoosar grabbed onto his wing and used an arrow to strike at his back, making the Bat growl in pain. In response, Yuma drew his knife and slashed at Akela.

"You should be on our side," he growled, pointing his knife at Akela. "Have you forgotten what they did to your father? To Ilia's parents? To all of the Faunus?"

"I remember perfectly well what they did to my father," Akela snarled. "But he wouldn't want me to help in genocide."

"It's either us or them!" Yuma barked. "You really think we can live in peace? Or is it because you love Blake?" Akela didn't respond to Yuma's question, making him smirk.

"You love someone who cannot accept herself, who'd rather hide than fight for what she believes in. When we're done here, she will answer for her treason against the White Fang. But if you love her so much, we'll send you back to her…in a body bag."

Akela glared at the Bat and shot two arrows at him, which he knocked aside with his wings. Yuma then glided at him and slashed his knife at the Dhoosar; Akela grabbed Yuma's arm and kicked him in the stomach, followed by bashing his head into the wall, creating a large-sized hole.

The Bat expanded his wings, forcing Akela to release his grip on him and allowing him an opening to thrust his knife at him. Yuma slashed again and again at Akela, who dodged his attacks until one of them finally landed on his face, scarring his left eye.

"You've no idea how long I've wanted to do that," Yuma smirked. Akela used his bow as a bludgeon to hit Yuma's head, which he blocked with his wing before following with a knife strike. The wolf used his bow to block the blade, then pushed Yuma away and shot an arrow at him, scarring his right cheek.

"You've no Aura to protect you," Akela pointed out.

"Neither have you," Yuma responded. "And neither did Kali. I hope the bitch dies." The Bat then hit Akela with his wing, knocking the bow out of his hand and giving him an opportunity to kill the wolf; luckily, Akela caught on in time to catch Yuma's arms and stop him from driving his knife into his head.

Yuma put all the strength he had into pushing his knife while Akela groaned as he struggled against the Bat. Seeing his bow on the ground behind Yuma, the wolf pushed the Bat's knife into the wall and dived for his weapon. Just as Yuma managed to pull his knife out, he turned around to see Akela with an arrow pointed at him.

"Put the knife down," he demanded.

Yuma didn't comply, instead tightening his grip on his weapon. Neither the Bat nor the Wolf were willing to stand down, their dedications to their morals too strong for them.

"Never," Yuma growled before charging at Akela. Instead of releasing his arrow, the wolf ducked under him…and shot him in the leg, causing the Bat to fall onto the ground and hit the wall. Yuma groaned in pain from the arrow in his leg as Akela slowly walked up to him.

"You really think you can undo centuries of hatred?" the Bat questioned. "What you want is impossible; humanity will never accept us. The only way there can be way of getting respect…is by killing those who oppress us."

"There'll always be humans who hate us," Akela acknowledged. "But peace is possible." He then used his bow to knock Yuma unconscious.

-0-

Blake knocked a White Fang member unconscious as she aided in the fight with Bhaal's warriors. Despite the White Fang's numbers still being greater than theirs, Bhaal's warriors and Ghira's guards were still holding their ground against their attackers.

"Have you seen my Mom?" Blake asked.

"I haven't had time to find her," Bhaal told the Cat as he killed a White Fang with his claws. "What about the Chieftain? Does he need help?"

"He may," Blake answered. "He and Sun are holding the entrance against the Albains, but they may need reinforcements."

"I saw your mother," one of Bhaal's warriors called to Blake. "Akela was helping her get help."

"Get help?" Blake asked, confused.

"She was injured," the warrior informed, shocking the Belladonna. "I've no idea where they're taking her, but the White Fang said they wanted her dead."

Blake was so shocked by what she heard about her mother that she didn't catch onto a bullet hitting her head, making her Aura shimmer from the impact. She switched Gambol Shroud into a handgun and shot the White Fang gunman.

"Go find your mother," Bhaal insisted to Blake. "The rest of Ghira's guards, go help your Chieftain; my warriors and I will hold the line here." Without hesitation, Blake took off in search of her mother.

It scared her to death knowing that Kali had been injured during the fighting, meaning she could die if not helped. Even though she heard Akela was possibly helping her, she needed to find her herself and make sure she was okay.

"Where is she?" she seemed to panic as she searched around, hoping to find her. As she entered one room, possibly an office, she dodged an attack from Ilia's whip.

"Blake," the Chameleon address, retracting her whip. "You need to leave."

"You!" Blake growled with anger she rarely showed. The Cat rushed forward and struck at Ilia, hitting her whip with her blade. Ilia back and lashed her weapon at the Cat several times; when she hit a Shadow Clone instead of the real Blake, she was caught off guard by the Belladonna using Gambol Shroud to wrap around her leg and then kick into her torso.

"You were my friend," Blake snarled.

"And you were my friend," Ilia responded. "I'm doing what I have to for our people."

"By killing your own race!?" the Cat roared. "Including my mom!?"

Ilia was truly disturbed by the anger present in Blake right now, but she guessed she shouldn't be surprised. The White Fang had tried to abduct her and kill her parents to frighten Menagerie into submission. Blake had every right to be angry, especially at Ilia.

"I didn't want this," Ilia claimed.

"Don't lie to me!" Blake barked before unsheathing Gambol Shroud and unleashing a flurry of attacks at her former friend. When Ilia retaliated, Blake created a Fire Dust clone, exploding on impact from Ilia's attack and knocking her into the wall. She caught on in time to dodge Blake's next attack, jumping onto one of the desks.

"You support the idea of killing my parents!?" Blake snarled. "If you support this, then you might as well spit on your parents' graves."

Ilia's eyes widened at that statement.

Indeed, her parents' deaths had affected Ilia greatly. That pain had motivated her to join the White Fang to bring equality to their people while serving both Ghira and Sienna. She claimed how much she didn't want other Faunus to experience the pain she felt when she lost her parents all those years ago.

Now she might as well spit on what she said. Here she was, aiding in the killing of her friend's parents, simply because Adam Taurus stated they were traitors to the Faunus. She was gong to make her friend suffer the same pain she claimed she didn't want others to feel, one that she still hadn't fully recovered from.

"I…I didn't want it to be this way," Ilia claimed.

"But you're still here," Blake pointed out. "You're still here, helping Adam, helping the White Fang."

"I'm doing…" Ilia barked, but cut herself off. "I'm doing what I….I'm trying to stop the prejudice against our people."

"Well, that's not what you're fighting for here and now," Blake argued. "Your parents would be afraid and disgusted by what you've become." Ilia bared her teeth in anger and lashed her whip at Blake several times, forcing the Faunus behind a desk for cover.

"Don't you DARE bring up my parents!" Ilia roared. She then infused her whip with Fire Dust and lashed at Blake. She unleashed strike after strike at her former friend, enraged by her bringing up her deceased parents yet again. She was so caught up in what she did that she didn't catch on in time to stop herself from accidentally setting fire to a large plant.

"You used to see everything the way we did," Ilia stated as Blake stood atop the upper balcony, looking down at her friend. "You haven't suffered as we have. You still have your family, your friends…many of us have nothing! We tried it your father's way-"

"My father is NOT a coward!" Blake interrupted. "He was anything but that. If he was, he would've done absolutely nothing to help the Faunus. Just because he didn't seek out violence doesn't mean he's not capable to lead nor did he place his pride above our people."

"Says you," Ilia retorted. Their conversation stopped when a piece of burning wood nearly struck Ilia, then it was brought to their attention that the house was catching fire. Taking advantage of the distraction, Blake leapt down and attacked; when Ilia swung, Blake left a clone in her place and slashed at the Chameleon once more before pinning her against the column.

"Look around you!" Blake cried out. "Does this look like fighting for freedom!? Is that what your parents would've wanted!?"

"Shut up!" Ilia barked. She tried to break free from Blake, but the Cat kept her firmly pinned against the column.

"Is this what your parents would've wanted!?"

"I said shut up!"

"IS THIS WHAT YOUR PARENTS WOULD'VE WANTED!?"

"I don't know!" Ilia cried out, her anger replaced with the sorrow of her parents' deaths. It finally sank down; this fight, leading the Grimm to Menagerie, the terrorism, the murder of Sienna Khan, the Fall of Beacon…if her parents saw what she had become, they would weep for her.

"This isn't who you are, Ilia," Blake claimed. "You're not like Adam or the Albains or Sienna." Just then, Corsac Albain was sent flying through the door, having been punched by Ghira and Sun following after him.

"Blake!" Sun addressed. "Are you okay?"

"Ilia!" Fennec called out. "What are you doing!? Kill her!"

More White Fang burst into the room, alerting Blake to flip back and avoid one of their attacks. She used Gambol Shroud's sword and sheath to cut down two White Fang, then left a Fire Dust clone that exploded and knocked down three more.

All the while, Ilia stood to the side behind the column, unable to make a move. She was conflicted about which side to fight for: fight for the Belladonnas or fight for the White Fang.

Blake had finally made her realize the true depth of the White Fang's terrorism. Even if they were getting respect now, they were also negatively impacting the live of million of other Faunus. All across Remnant, Faunus were suffering for the Fall of Beacon, especially at the hands of the Wild Hunt in Mistral.

Now, they were killing their own kind as well. Adam had killed Sienna Khan, though it was done reluctantly and not what he planned to do. She had help attract a massive Grimm to the shores of Kuo-Kuana, endangering the lives Adam swore to fight for. Now, they were leading an assault on Ghira and Kali Belladonna just to get them out of the way.

Was truly the justice and freedom they were fighting for? It didn't look like it anymore to Ilia.

"Ilia!" Fennec growled. "What are you standing around for? Kill them!"

"I thought Adam wanted Blake brought in alive," Ilia questioned.

"Forget about Adam!" he barked. "Now do as you're told! Kill Blake!"

The horrible truth struck Ilia at that moment: Adam didn't order this attack at all, this was solely the work of the Albains. They had betrayed Adam and ordered an attack on the Belladonnas, most likely against his wishes.

"No," Ilia refused.

"You will obey or you-" Fennec was shot in the shoulder with an arrow. Ilia looked over to see Akela with his bow, having shot the Albain.

"Brother!" Corsac called out.

"We need to get out now!" the Dhoosar shouted. "This place is going up in flames!"

"Then you will burn with it!" Fennec roared as he prepared to attack. Before he could, a large part of the balcony fell onto the Fox, killing him.

"FENNEC!" Corsac cried out as his brother was crushed to death. The Albain looked in terror at his brother's death before turning to look at Sun, Blake, Ghira and Akela with a death glare.

"You ruined everything…EVERYTHING!" Corsac roared. He let out a gasp of pain before he fell to the ground unconscious; Ilia had struck him with her whip. She looked at Blake with an apologetic expression, tears slowly falling down her cheeks.

"Everyone out!" Ghira demanded. "Now!" The Chieftain grabbed Corsac and carried him out of the burning house as it started to fall apart.

"Wait!" Blake cried out. "Where's Mom?"

"She had to have made it out," Akela stated. "One of Bhaal's warriors got her out through the study."

"Then she made it out," Ghira confirmed, knowing how she would've escaped. Finally, they made it outside as the heat of the fire became unbearable for anyone.

"Ghira!" Bhaal called out as he hurried up to the Chieftain of Menagerie. "Are you alright?"

"We're fine," Blake responded before her father could. "What about Mom? Will she be okay?"

"What do you mean?" Ghira asked, raising an eyebrow with confusion.

"Kali was wounded during the fighting," Bhaal informed, much to Ghira's shock. "But she will survive. She's been taken to the hospital and is receiving medical treatment as we speak."

"Thank the Gods," Blake whispered, happy at the news. She turned away from Bhaal to see that many of the Faunus in Menagerie had gathered around the Belladonna home, now nothing more than a burning inferno. Blake walked down the steps, towards the crowd as she became the immediate center of attention.

"Humans didn't do this," she proclaimed, gesturing to the fire. "We did this, to ourselves. We hate the humans for being evil towards us, but tonight…tonight proved that we can be just as evil as them. Adam has made you believe that the only way for us to get respect and equality is through violence; this is what it looks like. This is what Adam and those who serve him are doing. And if we don't stop him, this is what will happen everywhere. Is this the world you want to live in, to pass onto your children, to their children?" No one in the crowd responded to Blake's question, but she could tell that they were deeply affected by her words.

"I don't know how we can undo centuries of hatred between us, but it cannot be done through terrorism and fear and this proves it; all it'll do is burn everything it touches until there is nothing left. Adam, the White Fang, must be stopped…and that means defending Haven. I know many of you don't trust the humans for what they've done to us and I know I'm asking a lot from you, but you've seen what hatred can do. I will go to Haven alone if I have to, because I won't stand by and let our people suffer anymore. What will you do?"

"I will go," a Faunus spoke up.

"I will," another Faunus agreed. More and more Faunus spoke up, declaring their intent to help defend Haven from the White Fang.

"I will go as well," Ilia offered. "If you'll let me."

"You won't," Bhaal stated. "You're under arrest."

"Wait," Blake insisted. "She can help us."

"How?" Bhaal questioned. "She helped organize this."

"Then I'll help undo the damage," Ilia suggested before stepping forward.

"The White Fang were the ones who attracted the Hydra Grimm to Menagerie. We're responsible." The crowd gasped in horror at the truth of what happened, knowing that Adam Taurus had deliberately allowed them to be endangered.

"Please," Blake pleaded. "Don't arrest her. Give her the chance to fight for us." Bhaal let out a sigh, then backed off.

"Very well," he conceded. "But if she betrays us, then she will answer for her crimes."

"I understand," Ilia acknowledged.

"We're running out of time," Ghira brought up. "We've only two weeks before Adam attacks Haven. We'll need time to train, arrange transportation-"

"That won't be a problem," Blake replied. "I know a captain who owes us a favor."

**Author's Notes: Hey, it's been a while. That retreat I went on, I had to leave early because I got sick. I've been recovering from it, so that's why I haven't uploaded in a while. I hope you're still enjoying this series. **


	23. Strategy Meeting

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 23: Strategy Meeting**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

Raven stood inside Leo's office, wanting to get away from the Iron Knight hideout for a while. To her, they sounded like nothing but a bunch of fanatics, annoying and intolerable; it didn't help that they recognized her as a former Huntress. Raven and Vernal wanted to leave; while Raven was allowed, Vernal was forced to stay by Cinder's side.

"So…you had the guts to betray Oz?" she asked the Haven Headmaster. He looked over to her, his scowl full of shame and regret for what he had done for Salem.

"You act as if I should be proud," Leo replied. "No one in their right mind would ever be proud of the things I've done."

"You did what you had to do to survive," Raven responded. "Still, I wonder: what made you turn to her side?"

"I'm helping her because…because she cannot be stopped," the lion answered. Raven raised an eyebrow.

"I heard of how you were missing for months. You claimed that you got lost on a mission and struggled to make your way back home…that's not what happened, is it?"

"No. Salem captured me…I spent all that time tortured. When I got the chance to kill her, she…she didn't die."

"Exactly what I mean," Raven claimed. "There is no beating Salem."

"Yet you left before you even knew this," the Haven Headmaster pointed out. "How can you honestly have no remorse for what you've done either?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Leo rose from his seat with a shocked expression on his face.

"Supposed to mean? You slaughter innocent people, Raven, and you've done it far longer than I've served Salem. You abandoned your family, turned your back on everyone who cared for you and yet you stand there, acting so superior and remorseless."

"Who are you to judge?" Raven challenged. "I'm doing what I have to so I can survive. I'm not a coward, I'm smart."

"If you were smart, you wouldn't have harbored the Spring Maiden," Leo dismissed. "No, Raven. We're not smart; I'm scared…and you're stupid." Raven slammed her fists on Leo's desk.

"What did you call me!?" she snarled.

"You said how you wanted to avoid Ozpin's war with Salem, yet you harbored someone you KNEW Salem would want to find. That's not intelligence, that's being short-sighted and hypocritical. At least I admit…" He sat down in his chair, his angered expression changed back to regret.

"At least I admit what I've done and I can never be proud of it. I can never be forgiven."

"The only reason Salem found me was because you gave her the coordinates to my camp," Raven stated. "Everything was just fine until you and Qrow screwed things up for us." Leo looked up at Raven with contempt.

"Are you incapable of letting go of your ego for one minute?" he asked bluntly. "Admit it: the only reason you're helping Salem is because you're just as much scared of her as I am. There is no pride in what we've done. We are traitors, cowards, and we don't deserve forgiveness."

"Speak for yourself," Raven dismissed, much to Leo's disgust.

"Ozpin should've expelled you when you put that young man in the ER," Leo brought up. "You think you've become some great warrior and survivor, but all you are is someone who can't live up to the morals you preach and ignore whenever someone criticizes you. You never deserved Taiyang."

Raven was one motion away from killing the Haven Headmaster. True, he had betrayed Ozpin and joined Salem, but he showed no pride in what he had done; instead, he showed immense regret, shame and self-loathing, believing that his atrocities could never be forgiven.

Now he had called Raven out for her own choices. She had harbored a Maiden, despite her claiming not wanting to be a part of Salem's war. She had targeted the weak and defenseless, despite her claiming the Branwen Tribe to be strong. Everything she had done contradicted the morals and beliefs she spoke of.

"I'm leaving," Raven responded. "I'm nothing like you. I'm doing what I have to for my family. You're just saving yourself."

"Don't lie to yourself," Leo replied. Raven left the office and thought back to what Cinder had said earlier.

"_I get the Relic and Yang lives." _

"No," she responded. "If we're going to survive, I need to get the Relic. I…"

She halted after realizing what this course of action would mean: endangering Yang. She was unsure if Cinder would truly let Yang live during the attack on Haven Academy; she doubted it, but she would at the least make sure her daughter survived.

On the other hand, Yang willingly chose to go after Ruby, despite knowing of the danger it'd pose. She knew full well about Ozpin's war with Salem, yet still decided to join up with Qrow. It wasn't her responsibility to look after Yang when she clearly made her choice.

However, Raven wasn't content with the idea of Yang dying. Despite all the enmity Yang held towards her, and rightly so, she was still her daughter…and letting her die wasn't something she could bring herself to let happen.

-0-

"Did the Wild Hunter say anything?" Silvio asked Luna, Oren standing by her side.

"He spilled the beans too easily," she smiled. "We now know where various Wild Hunt safehouses are. I've already sent some militia to scout them out; hopefully, we can find evidence proving that Darren Moss is indeed targeting humans and not just Faunus."

"Master Silvio," one of the Steel's butlers addressed as he held a ringing scroll in his hand. "There's a call for you."

"Who from?" Silvio asked.

"Darren Moss." Silvio groaned in annoyance before walking over to take the scroll and hold it up to his ear.

"What?" he asked rather hostilely as he walked out of the room.

"_You tell your militia to get out of my property now," _Darren demanded. _"They have no right to be there." _

"Considering how your Wild Hunters have been targeting anyone they deem an enemy, including myself, they have every right," Silvio shot back. "You've been endangering people all across Mistral."

"_The ones responsible are the Faunus, just like your whore girlfriend," _Darren dismissed. _"And I did not order that attack on your life nor on the lives of humans." _

"Don't bother lying; my family knows you too well. You don't care about people, you only care about yourself and what you can take. This whole Wild Hunt thing is nothing more than you trying to get rid of those you hate."

"_I'm not the one who destroyed Beacon Academy. Or perhaps your girlfriend has tricked you into forgetting that tragedy?" _

"You use the Fall of Beacon as an excuse for your crimes against Mistral. You're manipulating people's hatred of the Faunus for your own benefit. What do you hope to be? Councilman? Mayor?"

"_I'm simply holding those responsible for the destruction of Beacon responsible. Now tell your troops to leave my property." _

"Not happening," Silvio dismissed before hanging up. He returned to the butler and handed the scroll over to him.

"What, is Moss mad that we're 'trespassing' in his safehouses?" Luna asked with contempt for the racist.

"He's sounded a bit desperate," Silvio brought up. "If there's evidence that can put him away for life, it has to be in one of those safehouses."

"Since that's taken care of, we should hold a strategy meeting," Oren suggested. "We've less than 72 hours before the attack on Haven. We'll need to make sure our defenses are prepared."

"We will," Silvio agreed. "Gather everyone here."

-0-

In less than an hour, the theatre in the Steel Manor was filled with Silvio's militia commanders, Haven students, RWY, JNPR, MRRN and the veteran Huntsmen who came with them. Silvio walked up to a podium and activated a microphone.

"_Thank you all for coming,"_ he addressed. _"I'll cut right to the chase. As you all know, Haven will come under attack soon by the same forces who destroyed Beacon. From what we understand, they may outnumber us five to one and they have Aura Breaking ammunition. But we're prepared for them and have gathered as many forces as we can. I'd like to invite Forest Kotka to reveal information he discovered." _Forest rose up from his seat and walked up to the podium.

"_The battle that is to come is a diversion; their true plan for victory is a small detachment that will set off explosives under Haven." _He pulled out his scroll and placed it on the podium, causing a holographic projection of Haven Academy to be seen.

"_There is a cavern underneath Haven, one filled with support columns underground. The Iron Knights and White Fang plan to plant explosives on these columns and detonate them; if they're successful, the Academy will collapse on itself. That's why we need to a team to guard the cavern and prevent them from planting those explosives." _He removed his scroll from the podium, causing the projection of Haven to disappear.

"_Teams BRN and SSN have volunteered for the mission. Thank you." _He walked back to his seat as Silvio returned to the podium.

"_We're unsure if our enemy has any backup plans should they fail to destroy the support columns; if they do, we'll need to act quickly and they won't care about casualties, only destroying Haven." _He brought his own scroll onto the podium, creating a projection of Haven Academy.

"_There's only one way for our enemy to enter Haven: through the forest. Most likely, they'll enter at the Quad, where the Grand Hall and CCT tower is. That is where we'll place the majority of our forces; with our forces properly positioned and the forest being the enemy's only way of entry, surrounding us will be difficult for them." _He highlighted an area of Haven in blue, most likely the Quad and then highlighted two smaller areas in green.

"_We'll have two small teams placed in these areas to take care of stragglers and secure positions for our forces should we be forced to retreat. With barricades in place, the enemy will be forced to funnel their forces should they choose to chase after us. Hopefully, it won't come to that because that'll mean the enemy can possibly destroy Haven's CCT tower; should they succeed, we'll lose any means of communication with the other kingdoms." _He sighed.

"_I'm asking a lot from all of you, probably too much. But if Haven falls, things will only get worse for Mistral…and this time, without Huntsmen to help us, we may not survive a second time. Many of you have lost friends, family, loved ones; the people responsible for that are planning to do it again, only this time, we're prepared for them and we will stop them!" _Most of the room burst into cheers at Silvio's declaration.

"_Organize the militia! We prepare for battle!" _

-0-

"Man, that guy's got some charisma," Yang complimented as she, her friends, Qrow and Oscar were in a room after the meeting had been concluded.

"His plan's pretty good, but there's one thing he doesn't know: the Relic of Knowledge," Glaucus brought up.

"Where is the entrance to the Vault?" Pyrrha asked.

"In the Grand Hall," Qrow answered. "The same building where Leo's office is."

"So, for all we know, he could have the Vault opened right now?" Math asked. "None of us have been to Haven recently."

"_I don't believe so," _Ozpin brought up. _"Though it does surprise me why Salem isn't doing it now."_

"What exactly does the Relic do?" Math questioned. "Glaucus didn't tell us."

"He didn't tell any of us," Forest brought up. "So let's hear it."

"_As you wish," _Ozpin complied. _"The Relic of Knowledge is a powerful, yet dangerous artifact. The user can ask it any question and it will provide an answer."_

"Intriguing," Ren replied.

"So we could basically ask how many babies Math and Pyrrha will have," Nora asked.

"Nora!" Math growled.

"And Ruo and Yang!"

"Nora!" Ruo barked.

"And Robin and-"

"Shut your pancake loving ass!" Nasser demanded angrily. The hammer user glared at the axe wielder who had just told her to shut up about the future parents in the room. Ozpin chuckled at the humorous moment between the young adults.

"_I'm afraid it doesn't work that way," _he informed.

"What do you mean?" Robin asked.

"_The Relic has some drawbacks: it cannot tell you of events yet to happen and it will only answer three questions every one hundred years." _

"Only three?" Nasser questioned. "Seriously? Doesn't seem all that powerful to me. But at least we'll have some answers on hand should we need them."

"_I'm afraid not," _Ozpin claimed. _"The questions were used up before I sealed it away." _

Glaucus focused on that statement Ozpin just said. He just now claimed that all of the questions had been used up before he had sealed it away.

Valkoin had made the claim that the Relic revealed the deaths of their parents and how Ozpin had cost them everything. He knew his brother too well that he wouldn't have just abandoned Ozpin and joined with Salem for no reason.

"Are you certain all the questions were used up?" Glaucus asked Ozpin directly.

"_I am," _Ozpin claimed.

"You better," Yang stated. "You promised no more lies, half-truths or omitting information. If you break that promise-"

"Yang, that's enough," Qrow reprimanded his niece.

"No, Uncle Qrow," Ruby denied. "Yang's right. Ozpin made a promise and he needs to honor it."

"_And I will," _Ozpin assured. _"Since we failed to get the Spring Maiden, odds are Salem may've found her. We'll need to defend the Relic during the attack on Haven." _

"Some of us will need to help Silvio's forces," Math brought up. "They're going to need all the help they can get."

"_The Relic must take priority," _Ozpin claimed. _"If Salem gets her hands on it, things will be much worse." _

"That won't matter if Haven falls," Forest argued. "I agree the Relic needs to be protected, but we cannot just leave Silvio and his forces to fight the enemy, not when they need our help."

"We'll split up," Glaucus stated. "One team will defend the Relic while the rest help Silvio's forces."

"I can get behind that," Math agreed.

"_I need everyone to listen to me," _Ozpin stated.

"No," Forest refused. "You are no position to be making demands of us. Everyone's trust in you hangs by a thread after what you did."

"If you hate Ozpin so much, why are you here?" Qrow asked the eagle.

"I'm here because Haven is in danger," Forest answered. "I'm not doing this for Ozpin."

"Ozpin does what he has to do to keep the world safe," Qrow shot back. "He doesn't always have the luxury of playing by the rules."

"There's a difference between not playing by the rules and not caring about the lives of others," Forest replied. "He's willing to let good men and women die just so we can hold the defenses for the Relic when the Bushi militia need all the help they can get."

"Summer needed your help," Qrow brought up. "Too bad you weren't there to help her when she needed you."

"Do NOT put that on me," Forest snarled, reaching for Rohkeus.

"That's enough, both of you!" Glaucus demanded, breaking up the fight. Forest and Qrow glared at each other, not hiding their enmity in any way.

"Listen, Haven is in danger. As much as Ozpin needs to make up for what he's done, we need to work together to secure Haven's safety, so put your anger aside and focus on the task at hand."

Unknown to everyone, Ruby had fallen dead silent after Qrow mentioned her mother. She honestly found it a bit underhanded to blame Forest for Summer's death after she had heard from him just because he was not trusting towards Ozpin.

After some briefing, it was decided Qrow, Glaucus, Ruby, Yang, Oscar, Pyrrha, Jaune and Weiss would defend the Relic while everyone else would aid the Bushi militia. Math didn't like the idea of leaving her with Ozpin, but Glaucus assured him that he would make sure nothing happened to her. After everyone left, Jaune rushed up to Pyrrha.

"What is it?" she asked him. He looked at her with a regretful and ashamed expression.

"Listen, before we left for Haven, when we…had that argument…I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you."

"Jaune…" Pyrrha spoke, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"You did so much for me and I…" He sighed. "I shouldn't have said those things and I shouldn't have called you stupid. You were doing what you felt was right and I was too angry to recognize that."

"Truth is, Jaune, I had my own lesson to learn," Pyrrha responded. "I was crippled because I fought her alone instead of with my team. I'm sorry for worrying you, Jaune." The two looked at each other sincerely before hugging, thus completing their reconciliation.

"I hope things can be good between us again," Jaune spoke.

"They will," Pyrrha assured.

"And between you and Math."

"We're not parents!" Math shouted from a distance.

-0-

"Sorry, sir," Dagger apologized. "The attack was a failure. Not only did we suffer casualties, but we failed to get the cane." She could hear Nachtfel groan over the scroll.

"_Never mind that," _he replied. _"Prepare the Assassins for the attack on Haven. We strike in less than 72 hours." _

"Yes, sir," Dagger replied. "And the detachment team?"

"_Crusher is getting them ready," _Nachtfel informed.

"What if the plan fails?" Dagger asked with precautionary intent.

"_We outnumber the militia," _Nachtfel answered. _"Even if our plan fails, they won't be able to hold out against us for long. Do not stop the attack until the Academy is destroyed." _

"We'll be ready," Dagger assured. "I'll go get the Assassins prepared for the attack." She then hung up.

"Is he mad at us?" Cloak asked her sister.

"If he is, he's not showing it," Dagger responded. "We need to get ready for the attack."

"We'll definitely have an advantage," Cloak brought up. "They expect the full force to attack from the front; they may be so overwhelmed that they won't notice us coming from behind." Dagger turned around and put a hand on her sister's shoulder.

"It's time we get the justice we deserve. It's time to create a world without hatred and prejudice." Cloak submissively nodded her head and hugged her sister.

-0-

"I knew Schnee was in on this," Adam snarled. He was looking over the records showing calls made between Jacques Schnee and Darren Moss. At first, it meant nothing, but after finding out Darren had been receiving large sums of Lien from Jacques Schnee, it all but proved that he was aiding in their terrorism.

"Just like him; always out for himself."

"High Leader!" a White Fang member addressed as he entered the White Fang's hideout in Mistral. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" he asked. "Is it with the Iron Knights or Cinder?"

"No, sir," the White Fang member replied. "It's in Menagerie." Adam put down the scroll he was viewing and walked over to the Faunus.

"What happened?" he demanded to know.

"We received a report from one of our brothers there. The Albains led an attack on the Belladonnas and are claiming you ordered the attack. Blake Belladonna has rallied the Menagerie populace against us, especially since Ilia betrayed us."

"Betrayed?"

"She confessed that we were the ones behind the Grimm coming to Kuo-Kuana after the attack on the Belladonnas. They're making their way to Haven as we speak."

"Albains." Adam gripped his sword tightly with anger. Not only did the Albains alienate his supporters in Menagerie, but now they were mobilizing against them since they were blaming Adam for the attack.

"What should we tell the others?" the Faunus questioned.

"We warned them that if they stand in our way, we will strike them down," Adam answered. "We've come too far to stop now." He leaned on the table where he had collected the evidence of Jacques's involvement with the Wild Hunt.

"Inform Nachtfel: there'll be a second force coming to help the militia."

"Understood," the White Fang member answered before leaving the room.

Adam didn't want it to be this way, but because of the Albains, it was. They'd have to fight against their own brothers and sisters because of the treacherous Albains.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted them," Adam growled. "They've cost us whatever support we have in Menagerie."

His mind went to Blake for a moment, thinking of the young woman he trained, looked after and once loved. He knew that she didn't approve of their violence and terrorism, but he believed it was the only way to do what was needed.

"Mom, Dad…" he whispered, remembering that horrible night when Jacques Schnee remorselessly kill them. "I will do whatever it takes. Maybe it's not what you want, but it's the path I've chosen. No more suffering for our people."


	24. Remembrance

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 24: Remembrance**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Yang sat in her room on her bed, looking at the picture of her team…or in her mind, was her team. Ruby and Weiss were here by her side, but Blake…even after months, she hadn't known what happened to her.

After Blake ran away, they still accepted her back as their friend and teammate. They helped her try to track down Roman Torchwick, leading to the tragic Paladin Incident and becoming criminals in the eyes of the VSU. Yang talked her out of throwing her future away to satisfy her unhealthy obsession with catching Torchwick. Yang...she even lost her arm trying to save Blake.

And for all of this, she still ran away. She still abandoned them yet again. The sun dragon held the picture in both her hands, prepared to rip Blake out of it; she didn't deserve to be in that picture anymore, not after leaving yet again because she was too scared to face the demons of the world.

"Yang?" Weiss asked as she entered the room. She noticed the picture in her hands, walking forward to see what Yang was about to do.

"Why should you care if I do it?" the sun dragon asked the Schnee ex-heiress. "She abandoned us twice." Weiss gently put her hand on Yang's shoulder, only for the martial artist to rise from her seat and walk over to the closed window.

"Even after everything, she still left," Yang repeated. "We accepted her back, even after she revealed herself as a former member of the White Fang when we should've turned her over to the police."

"Yang," Weiss addressed, but it fell on deaf ears.

"We helped her try and track down Torchwick; people got killed and we were arrested because we thought ourselves invincible when we were just students. We never should've helped her." She tightened her grip on the photo in her robotic hand, tempted to rip Blake out of it.

"I…I lost my arm trying to save her. It was my own fault I lost it, but I wanted to help her. We were there for her when she needed us, but when I needed her help, she…she ran off without a word!"

"Yang, please," Weiss insisted. "Just talk to me."

"This is me talking," Yang replied, turning to face the Schnee. "Ruby left because I pushed her away. You were forced back to Atlas by your father. Blake…she just ran like she always does. She's a coward."

"Yang, how can you say-?"

"Because it's true!" Yang raised her voice, her eyes turning red. When she saw Weiss flinch, she realized that she had once again lost her temper and calmed down, her eyes changing back to their lilac color.

"Blake always ran from her problems. She ran from the White Fang, she ran when she accidentally exposed herself, she ran when we were confined to Beacon and she ran when I was injured. She's always taking the easy way out, always. I wish I had never known her."

"She was our friend, Yang," Weiss reminded her teammate.

"WAS our friend," Yang replied, putting emphasis on the word. "She proved how much our friendship meant to her when she ran away, leaving me…leaving me alone again. I didn't push her away like I did Ruby and Ruo, she…" She placed her face in her hands, prepared to cry. "You wouldn't understand, Weiss."

"I do," the Schnee protested. "I know how you're feeling; you're feeling lonely and abandoned."

"How could you possibly know what I've been through?" Yang asked, making direct eye contact with Weiss. "Raven abandoned me. Summer…Mom died when I was young, Ruby couldn't even speak yet. Tai just…he just shut down. I had to hold everything together for years, alone because Raven only cared about herself and Tai was too busy feeling sorry for himself. How can you possibly understand?"

"I'll explain, but first, you need to sit down," Weiss answered. Yang didn't want what she felt would be a lecture from the ex-heiress, but knew it'd be a bad decision to just ignore her. As requested, Yang sat back down on her bed as Weiss sat down on the other.

"When I was ten, my father admitted to my mother that the only reason he married her was for the family name," Weiss started. "Deep down, I think she already knew and so did I, but I guess we didn't want to think it was true. He misses the big dinner; she got on him and he finally snapped."

"_It was Weiss's birthday dinner!" Willow shouted to Jacques in his study, unaware that Weiss was outside the slightly opened door. _

"_I was busy!" Jacques snarled, rising from his seat. "I didn't have time for that brat's dinner!" _

"_She's your daughter!" Willow reminded him. "She deserves to know her father cares about her. You're telling me you couldn't be bothered to sacrifice some time for her, especially when you knew?" _

"_I have far more important matters to worry about," Jacques responded. "I'm making sure that the SDC stays on top of the Dust industry." _

"_Do you even hear yourself?" Willow questioned, disgust and contempt in her voice. "We're your family! She's your family and you care more about your business than her, than Winter, than Whitley, than me?" _

"_I could care less about you," Jacques finally revealed. "I only care about the family name." Willow's expression, along with Weiss's, was almost complete heartbreak at their suspicions being confirmed about the unscrupulous businessman. _

"_What?" Willow questioned. _

"_I only married you so I could have the family name," Jacques repeated. "That's all that matters to me. Now do not bother me again!" _

"Why didn't your mother divorce him?" Yang asked, shocked at this revelation.

"She tried, but my grandfather had signed the company over to Jacques," Weiss explained. "After she learned the terms of the divorce, meaning he'd keep everything while she'd be left with nothing, she dropped it." Weiss paused for a moment, remembering with sadness at how everyone's lives became worse after that horrible birthday.

"After that, it was separate dinners, separate recitals; a glass of wine here, a glass of wine there. Soon, no dinners, no recitals; a bottle of wine here."

"Your mom's…an alcoholic?" Yang asked, her expression softening up.

"It's the only way she could deal with the marriage. She even once started an affair with my father's associate; when he found out…"

"_You cheating, unfaithful whore! How dare you humiliate me!" _

"He had the associate fired and did whatever he could to keep my mother from seeing other men, claiming she had to be faithful to him. As for us…Whitley followed father's example, becoming just as selfish and unkind as he was. Winter and my butler, Klein, were the only two people in that manor who ever showed me kindness and love every day. When they weren't around…I was alone."

"I'm sorry," Yang replied. "I…I didn't know."

"We both understand loneliness from different point of views," Weiss brought up. "As does Blake."

"She left us," Yang brought up once more. "We were there for her. Why can't she be here for us? What if we needed her?" Weiss stood up from the bed and walked over to sit next to her teammate.

"Yang, Blake spent her life being hated and abused for her Faunus heritage. This caused her to build up walls to protect herself from being hurt again, even from her own teammates. Those walls did eventually come down, but when they did…everything took a terrible turn. The Fall of Beacon, the deaths of so many people, the loss of your arm-"

"I don't blame Blake for my arm," Yang interrupted. "But she didn't have to run."

"And I didn't have to be so unpleasant when we first met," Weiss brought up, confusing Yang. "People can change, Yang; I don't know when we'll see Blake again, but when we do, we need to be there for her as others were here for us. Just like Klein and Winter were there for me, just like Ruo and Ruby were there for you…"

"What makes you certain?" Yang questioned. "What makes you certain that Blake won't stop running?"

"I'm not certain," Weiss admitted. "But that doesn't mean we can just forget about her. She may be scared right now, Yang, but in time, she may develop the courage to come back. I don't want her to stay away forever either." She then put her hand on Yang's shoulder.

"You, Ruby, Blake, JNPR and MRRN have been more like family to me than my actual relatives could ever be," she confessed. "To me, Blake is family and we should at least give her a chance should she come back."

Yang's entire mood changed from anger to sympathy after hearing Weiss out. She, Blake, Weiss, and nearly all of their friends understood loneliness, just in different ways. She was so angry at her teammate for abandoning her, which she still believed to be rightfully so, that she had nearly forgotten that Blake had her own pain and trauma to deal with.

She looked down at the photo one more time, the one she was tempted to rip in half to get rid of Blake's image. Instead, she placed it back in her pocket and turned to hug Weiss.

"Thank you," she told the Schnee.

"You're welcome," Weiss replied.

-0-

Math stood outside the Steel Manor, holding Dochas-Mhadaidh in his hands. He was trying to concentrate and summon the brown flames from the night the Assassins had attacked, causing their house to get burned down. No matter what he did, nothing happened, other than accidentally summoning his Aura Swords a few times.

Was his Semblance evolving like his sister's possibly? Her visions hadn't been active ever since the night of the attack and she still barely knew anything about them, so he felt he couldn't turn to her for help on understanding this foreign ability.

"Are you alright?" Forest asked, approaching his student.

"Forest, something happened the night the Assassins attacked," Math started. "I don't know what it is, but I've been trying to do it again."

"Do what again?" Forest asked. "What happened?" Math did his best to recollect the memory of how his ability revealed itself.

"When we made our way down to the living room, Pyrrha was already fighting the Assassins. Her Aura was nearly depleted and the leading Assassin was about to kill her. I struck the leader with my sword and…it started burning with these brown flames."

"Brown flames?" Forest asked, unsure of what Math was talking about.

"To make it even more interesting, it was able to injure her, despite her Aura being active."

"What?" Forest gasped. "Your ability…was able to pierce through her Aura?"

"Yes," Math confirmed. "If my Semblance is indeed evolving, then I need to figure out how to control it."

"Think back to the moment that it appeared," Forest instructed as he sat down on a chair. "Semblances are often connected to our personalities and are sometimes triggered by intense emotions. What did you feel when it happened?"

"I…I felt…I wanted to protect Pyrrha," Math answered, trying to remember the feeling he held when it happened.

"Then focus on that feeling," Forest suggested. "I always believed that your Semblance reflected your desire to protect others; perhaps since you have more close relationships, it may be evolving. Remember how your Semblance triggered?"

"Yes," Math replied.

"_Math, get them out of here!" Forest told his student, who was sixteen at the time and helping to protect a group of travelers from an Ursa Major. "I'll keep it distracted." _

"_Be careful," Math replied as he gestured for the group to hurry away from the battle between Forest and the Ursa Major. As they were hurrying away, another Ursa Major sprung out of the forest, roaring ferociously at the frightened travelers. _

"_Don't project negativity," Math tried to warn everyone, but to no avail; they were trained warriors like him and Forest. The Ursa Major charged forward, but was stopped by Mathdon, who had activated Dionach and bashed it against the Grimm's head. The Ursa snarled at Math as it swung its claw at him; he raised his shield up and blocked the attack, but was sent flying into a tree, causing his brown Aura to shimmer._

"_Help!" a young woman in the group cried as they tried to run away, but she was pinned down by the Grimm. She struggled to break free in vain, the Ursa's strength being too much for her. _

_Math, having recovered from the attack, looked at the Ursa Major about to eat the woman alive, its jaws open and ready to bite her in half. The swordsman leapt over and held his sword high, prepared to kill the Grimm; what he did not know was that Claiomh Solais was glowing with a brown light. _

_As soon as he brought his blade down on the Ursa Major's head, it was split in half by a great blast, immediately causing it to freeze before dissolving. The young woman looked at him with immense relief in her eyes, grateful to be alive. _

"_Thank you," she cried. "Thank you so much for saving me." _

"_You're…you're welcome," Math responded, his attention more on his sword than on the young woman. _

"_I need to thank you," she insisted. "Perhaps when we get back to the village, we can…buy a room?" _

"_What!?" Math gasped. "No, no. I can't." _

"_Why not?" the woman asked. _

"_Because he said so," Forest added, sheathing Rohkeus. He stopped when he saw Claiomh Solais glowing with brown light, the same color as Math's Aura. _

"_What…what is this?" Math asked. Forest walked over and put his hand on his student's shoulder. _

"_That is your Semblance." _

"It activated because I wanted to save that woman," Math brought up. "Not because I…well, wanted to…"

"I know," Forest assured with a chuckle. "Your mother would've had both our hides if I allowed that to happen."

"Yeah," Math agreed. "Indeed."

His mind went back to when he and Pyrrha decided to postpone consummating their relationship. He was glad they decided to do so after everything that happened. Even though their love for each other was undeniable, he felt they still had to show some restraint in their relationship until the proper time. If they ended married in the future, then they could do as they please.

His mother had always instilled in him that he should wait before marriage to have sex, to avoid just sleeping with whoever they wanted. To this day, though Math hadn't known any personally, some students in the Academies often had sex during their school years. It was for a number of reasons: heated love, a promiscuous lifestyle, or just the pleasure of it. Corcra made it clear that she didn't want Math and Safirlas to become like those students.

"Focus on your feeling of protecting others," Forest instructed. Math raised Dochas-Mhadaidh and held it with both hands, focusing on the feeling Forest instructed him to. Several moments passed, but nothing happened. Math tried again, yet accidentally summoned an Aura Sword instead.

"I don't get it," the autistic wolf swordsman groaned in frustration. "What am I doing wrong?"

"Calm down, Math," Forest told him. "Semblances take time to truly understand. Try thinking of another feeling you had when it activated. Was there sadness? Anger?"

"Yeah, there was anger," Math confirmed. "I felt…more than anger; it was rage. It was rage because that Assassin tried to kill Pyrrha. Could it…?"

"One way to find out," the eagle responded. "Focus on that feeling now."

Math felt some hesitation in doing so, but held his sword up again anyway. He focused on the feeling of rage; as he did, he showed a lot of hesitation in doing so. He didn't want his new ability to be activated by a negative emotion like anger; right now, it was the only way to find out.

Suddenly, Dochas-Mhadaidh burst into brown flames, just like from the night attack; they disappeared as quickly as they appeared due to Math no longer focused on his anger.

"I…I really wish that wasn't it," Math admitted.

"What do you mean?" Forest questioned.

"Semblances are supposed to be a reflection of ourselves, but this ability…it's activated by rage," the autistic wolf swordsman explained. "How can that possibly be an extension of myself? I don't carry…I don't carry that much anger."

"You may carry more than you think," Forest brought up. "Pyrrha told me about Gaspar telling you about your father; you still haven't moved on."

"It's…it's not that easy," Math claimed. "I thought I was over him, but every time he's brought up…"

"All the more reason you need to find a way to gain closure. The more you hold onto the memories of him, the more you're hurting yourself…and the more anger you carry."

"Maybe if I do, then the trigger for this ability won't be rage?" Math suggested.

"I'm not sure," Forest answered in an uncertain tone. "We barely know anything about this ability, so whether or not the trigger may change is in the air." He then sat back down.

"We'll need to discuss this another time. We have less than two days before the attack on Haven; I need you to be at your best if we're going to succeed. After that…we'll talk about what happens next."

"What do you mean?" Forest exhaled heavily in response.

"I didn't want you to get involved in this war; you only did because Ozpin roped you in. What I mean is…do you truly wish to keep fighting this war? You and your friends are not bound by anything to stay; you deserve to live your lives the way you want to."

"Well…" Math hesitated, thinking about how to answer his father. He personally didn't want to have gotten involved, but he was ever since the mission up north where Alan Kura was killed. Until now, he felt that it was a point of no return, especially with everything he had learned about Salem and Ozpin's war. To hear Forest offer him the chance to leave was reassuring, but also felt a bit overprotective.

"You don't have to answer right now," Forest told him. "Just think on it. I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks…Dad," Math responded.

Donovan Katur may've been his father, but Forest Kotka was his dad.

-0-

"Dammit, dammit!" Darren snarled as he paced the room. "If they discover those documents…I knew I should've kept them here. Now Silvio may be able to prove what's been happening."

Moss was trying to think of a solution to the problem he was facing, a problem that could mean the fall of the Wild Hunt: Silvio's militia were in his safehouses, looking for evidence that could prove him guilty of terrorism. He couldn't order the Wild Hunters to attack or else Silvio could use it against him, especially if they found the evidence needed to prove his atrocities that even the Mistral Council couldn't ignore.

"I need an answer," Darren told himself. "I need a way out."

GYAH!

Darren nearly jumped after hearing one of his guards being killed. He rushed to the window to see what was going on, only to see a warrior with a red blade cutting through his security forces with ease.

"I have to get out," the Wild Hunter leader panicked as he hurried through his manor, heading to the door that would lead to the backyard and allow him to escape the assassin. He could lose the assassin if he could reach his car and drive to the Mistral Police Station, where he was sure to get protection of any sort.

As he hurried to the door, a terrible realization struck him: he didn't have his car keys, which he had left up in his room. Without his vehicle, he'd have no chance to eluding the strange attacked. He had to take the risk and go back to get his car keys by returning to his room.

He ran down the hallway and made a sharp turn…almost impaling himself on the red sword of Adam Taurus. The Bull Faunus's mask hid his eyes, but Moss could easily tell that he was giving him a death glare simply by his anger expression, manifested in his teeth bared.

"Adam Taurus," Darren stated. "What do you want with me?"

"What do you think I want?" he asked, feeling the question was stupid. "You slaughter many of my people and you ask me what I want? What I want…is you dead."

"This isn't my fault!" Darren claimed, his voice cowardly and panicked.

"Then whose is it?" Adam questioned. "Schnee's?"

"Yes, yes!" Darren hastily pointed out. "He wanted me to do this. He wanted me to form the Wild Hunt."

"Really?" Adam snarled, then kicked the Wild Hunt leader into a chair, keeping his blade pointed at him. "You formed the Wild Hunt BEFORE Jacques started supporting you. How do you explain that?"

"W-what are you talking about?" Moss asked nervously.

"Jacques Schnee has been sending you large sums of money to aid the Wild Hunt," Adam revealed. "You didn't think I wouldn't find out, would you?"

"You can't do this to me!" Moss claimed, trying to show dominance. "I am a high class citizen of Mistral and you are nothing!" Adam hit him with the hilt of his chokuto sword.

"I am something." The White Fang leader removed his mask to show the scarred SDC brand on his face. Moss looked at the scar intently, but said nothing for a few moments.

"It fits an animal like you," he coldly replied. "You deserve it after all the suffering you've inflicted on us."

"All the suffering I'VE inflicted?" Adam roared, nearly knocking Moss down with his voice alone. In anger, he raised his weapon and drove it into Darren's foot, making him scream in pain.

"I do all this because I'm done watching my people be treated like slaves, animals, like they're worthless! We wouldn't have to do this if people like you and Jacques Schnee had a shred of kindness in you. But the truth is you don't; neither you nor Schnee have any kindness, integrity or love. You destroy lives for your own selfish benefits, especially the lives of my people."

"You and your people are nothing more than slaves and you deserve to be treated as such!" Darren barked.

He suddenly felt himself unable to move his left hand. Darren looked over at his arm to see that Adam had cut if off, making him gasp and then scream. It didn't last for too long when he felt the searing pain of a sharp object piercing his stomach. He was almost afraid to look down, yet he nervously did so only to see Adam's sword impaled in his torso.

"Please…" he begged. "I'm sorry! It's all Schnee's fault! Please don't kill me!"

"You beg for mercy!?" Adam barked before unloading a round from his shotgun into Moss's leg, blowing chunks of flesh away from the wound as Moss continued to scream in agony.

"PLEASE! It's not my fault!" Adam's hair and sword glowed red, his scowl firm and determined to make the man who had helped slaughter his people pay for his crimes.

"The Faunus of Mistral demand justice. I'll make sure they bury you…or the pieces they can find." Using his Semblance, Adam unleashed slash upon slash on Moss, cutting off his body parts one by one.

Darren Moss was dead, his body cut to pieces in revenge for the suffering he had inflicted on the Faunus. Adam cleaned his blade with a cloth and then sheathed it, satisfied with the death he had given Moss.

"People like you and Schnee make one terrible mistake: you think yourselves invincible, above the law. Your money, your names, your personal security…none of that will matter when I come for you." He then grabbed a carpet and placed a corner of it in the burning fireplace, waiting until it was burning.

"I am Adam Taurus, Leader of the White Fang, hated for my Faunus heritage." He dragged the carpet and laid it on top of a sofa, watching slowly burn.

"All those who had oppressed my people will suffer the same fate as Darren Moss. But Jacques Schnee…I'll take real pleasure in making you suffer." He placed his mask back on and hurried out of the manor as it started to burn.


	25. Pain of Others

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 25: Pain of Others**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

The murder of Darren Moss quickly spread like wildfire throughout Mistral. Many Wild Hunters claimed that Silvio was responsible, but one of the surviving security guards confirmed that it was Adam Taurus who was responsible for the murder. While many saw it as poetic justice, many also viewed it as just another White Fang attack.

As expected, the Bushi militia found overwhelming evidence proving that Darren Moss did indeed target both humans and Faunus, including the assassination attempt on Silvio Steel. Mr. Steel presented this irrefutable proof to the Council and, unlike before, they weren't able to ignore such condemning evidence.

Teams MRRN, RWY, JNPR, COAL and Saf all sat in the living room after breakfast, watching the news unfold as Councilman Lan Se Tiankong stood before a podium.

"_Ever since the Fall of Beacon, we've foolishly ignored the Wild Hunt's atrocities due to tensions with Atlas. However, with the evidence presented to us by Richard Steel, this has proven that Darren Moss's activities did indeed border on terrorism, despite his claims otherwise. Although he cannot face justice due to being murdered last night, we will do what we can to undo the damage he's caused. The Council of Mistral has proclaimed that all Wild Hunt activity will be considered terrorism; all Wild Hunters and anyone who willingly helps them will be charged as such." _

"Adam…Taurus?" Yang whispered, feeling her arm shake. She quickly grabbed it and calmed down, hoping no one would see her in a near-panicked state.

"Well, that takes care of one problem," Luna stated. "Just wish Darren could've lived to face justice."

"Murder at the hands of Adam…it wasn't justice," Oren claimed.

"But he definitely deserved it," Aria replied. "The man was a monster who targeted Faunus and their friends. What did he think was going to happen?"

"Moss is dead," Pyrrha pointed out. "What's done is done. The Wild Hunt have been declared terrorists for their actions; now we can focus on the defense of Haven. How are the defenses coming up, Silvio?"

"We're still getting them ready," he answered. "But we'll be ready by tonight."

"There's actually been a slight change of plans," Glaucus added, entering the room and sitting down on a chair. "Some of us will need to hold in the Great Hall."

"The Great Hall?" Cole asked. "Why there?"

"There is something there the enemy wants," Glaucus answered. "During the fighting, they plan to sneak in and steal it. A few of our group will remain in the Great Hall during the battle to protect it."

"Why wasn't I told of this?" Silvio asked. "I could've spared some troops if this item is so important to the enemy."

"With respect, you can't," Glaucus answered. "You need all the troops you can get for the defense of Haven; you can't afford to spare any."

"Okay, so what is this item?" Aria questioned. "And why aren't you willing to tell us what it is?"

"For your sake, I cannot say much, other than the enemy wants it," Glaucus answered. "They must not get it."

"Okay," Oren replied with uncertainty. "So who'd be protecting this 'item'?"

"Eight of us, including myself. The rest of our group will help the militia against the Iron Knights. I'm sorry to keep you in the dark about this, but you must trust us."

"Seriously?" Aria questioned. "If anything, you should tell us-"

"Stop, Aria," Cole silenced. "They've been helping us so far. I think there's no harm in letting them do what they need to."

"They could be deceiving us," Aria brought up.

"Hold on," Yang interrupted, her tone offensive. "Are you implying that we may be working for the Iron Knights?"

"I'm stating that I don't like that you're keeping information from us," Aria answered. "If this item is what the enemy wants, why are you unwilling to tell us?"

"For your own safety," Glaucus claimed, stopping a possible argument between Yang and Aria. "What do you say, Silvio?"

The leader of the Bushi Militia didn't speak for several moments, contemplating his decision.

So far, Glaucus and the group had given him no reason to believe they were working with the Iron Knights. However, considering what happened with Cinder Fall and her associates, he couldn't disregard the possibility. The three of them had successfully posed as Haven students, allowing them to infiltrate Beacon and orchestrate the Fall of Beacon.

"Okay," Silvio decided. "But if this item really is as dangerous as you claim, then Luna and Oren will go with you."

"That's agreeable," Aria complied. "Nothing should be wrong with that if you have nothing to hide." Yang glared at the blue-haired woman.

"I don't know what your problem is, but we're not with the Iron Knights," she stated with an annoyed tone. "We're not traitors."

"That's what Cinder Fall said and look what happened," Aria brought up.

"Why you-"

"Knock it off!" Math silenced. "The attack is tonight. We don't have time to be fighting each other." Glaucus sighed, knowing that refusing their help would raise their suspicions.

"Very well," the Gray Wanderer agreed. "Luna and Oren shall fight with us."

-0-

"_You did WHAT!?" _Ozpin barked as he, Glaucus, Math, Saf and Yang were in Oscar's bedroom. _"Do you realize you may've just jeopardized the safety of the Relic?" _

"They were suspicious, Ozpin," Math brought up. "After what happened with Cinder, I can't blame them for being a bit suspicious, especially when we don't tell them what it is."

"_We cannot afford the risk of them learning about the Relic," _Ozpin claimed. _"We need to be careful about who to trust with these facts."_

"Why do you act like everything has to be your way!?" Yang barked. "You're barely the leader of this group because almost no one trusts you and you being a control freak isn't helping."

"_A control freak?" _Ozpin asked, his voice becoming stern. _"Look, I know you don't approve of many of my decisions, Ms. Xiao Long, but I've trusted the wrong people too many times and I was forced to pay a great price. The reason for…for my tendencies is because I don't want unnecessary death from trusting the wrong people." _

"Unnecessary death?" Saf scoffed. "There's already been unnecessary death, partly because you knew a threat was in Beacon and you did nothing about it."

"_I was looking for a solution that wouldn't risk the spread of panic; if that happened, no one would be safe." _

"No one is safe now," Math stated. "You could've gone to Forest for help or listened to someone else's plan, but all you did was keep going on and on about how you-"

"_I'm trying to prevent another Great War!" _Ozpin roared.

Again, the room fell silent. It was a rare sight to see Ozpin angry; he had been seen stern, but never angry. His expression was one of a person who finally had enough of being mistreated, even if many believed he deserved it.

"_None of you can ever truly understand the burden I've been given. I've lived on Remnant for thousands of years, something none of you have ever been through. I've been cursed to stop Salem and her goals, which is to divide and destroy humanity by any means. If I trust the wrong people, I risk being responsible for another Great War. I already have enough on my conscience; I don't need that as well. I know you question many of the things I've done, but I do them to stop Salem." _He breathed several times before recollecting himself, seeing the surprised expressions on the people present at his outburst.

"_You'll never understand…and I hope you never have to." _He switched control of the body back to Oscar, who seemed just as surprised at the Beacon Headmaster's outburst.

"So, we're still doing it?" Oscar asked.

"We don't have a choice," Yang answered. "If we refuse, they could get very suspicious of us and we don't need that."

"No, we don't," Math agreed. "Well, I'm heading out to train."

-0-

Math and Jaune traded blows with each other, mostly Math's being successful hits on the Arc while Jaune kept hitting Torrach. Ren sat on the side, watching the match unfold between the two leaders. Finally, Jaune was defeated, his Aura below 35% while Math's hadn't lost any. The Arc groaned in frustration at the result of the match, hoping at least one of his strikes would land on Math.

"Why does it feel like I'm not getting better?" he asked himself.

"You will," Mathdon assured as he helped Jaune up to his feet. "Is something bothering you?" Jaune sighed.

"Before you got here, Qrow…he called me useless," he admitted. Math's eyes turned into a deadly glare.

"What?" he asked. "Look, maybe you're not the strongest here, but you're far from useless."

"Well, the problem is, I feel that way," Jaune confessed.

"How can you feel that way?" Ren asked. "You've improved greatly over these past months."

"Because…because I spent my whole life with almost no one thinking I'd be anything beyond a 'loveable idiot'." Jaune sat down on a chair, prompting Math to do the same.

"Loveable idiot?" Math asked, feeling a small sense of connection with Jaune's low self-esteem.

"My family name has always been well-known for being heroic, strong and brave," Jaune explained. "I felt I never lived up to that. I was always the kid who'd get picked on, who had to ask others to fight for me because I couldn't defend myself. I attended Beacon because…I didn't want to feel useless. I didn't want to be a loveable idiot."

"How can anyone ever think that of you?" Math questioned. "You made it to Beacon."

"Not…not really," Jaune confessed. Ren and Math raised their eyebrows.

"'What do you mean 'not really'?" Ren asked.

"I…I didn't attend any combat schools before I went to Beacon," the Arc admitted.

"Were you trained outside of school like I was?" the wolf swordsman asked. Jaune shook his head with shame at what he was about to confess.

"I forged my transcripts and lied my way into Beacon."

Both Math and Ren were silent at this revelation. It suddenly all made sense; Jaune falling behind, his clear lack of martial skills, him knowing very little of the world of Huntsmen…he had lied his way into Beacon.

"You…lied?" Math asked, unsure of whether to feel sympathy or anger towards the Arc. Like Jaune, Math had dealt with low self-esteem in the past, but while he didn't attend a school, he still trained with Glaucus and Forest to become the warrior he was today.

"I lied," he admitted. Jaune looked over to Ren, wondering how his reaction would be to this news. It was near impossible to tell, but Jaune could see that Ren's eyes were fixed on him.

"So…when you started hanging out with Cardin…?" the ninja brought up.

"When I was on the roof with Pyrrha, I told her the truth. Cardin overheard us talking and threatened to turn me over to Ozpin if I didn't do whatever he wanted. In Forever Fall, he wanted me to throw sap at Pyrrha as part of his prank on her."

"Prank!?" Math nearly barked. "Those Rapier Wasps are deadly. She could've been seriously hurt. How could he ever consider that a prank?"

"He didn't like people insulting him, which he felt she did," Jaune answered. "I threw the sap at him instead. They took me deeper into the forest, we were attacked by the Grimm and…you know the rest."

"That explains so much," Math responded.

Math couldn't reach a conclusion about how to feel for the Arc. On the one hand, he knew perfectly well what low self-esteem could do to a person, which he had experienced firsthand. From the sound of it, no one was there to help Jaune train and overcome his personal fears as Math did.

On the other hand, Jaune had lied his way into Beacon. He made no effort to train before entering Beacon, judging by his complete lack of skills when in combat and knowing almost nothing that were common facts to everyone else.

In the end, due to everything they had been through together, Math couldn't help but sympathize with the leader of Team JNPR, who had gone from a 'loveable idiot' to a skilled leader, strategist and trained swordsman.

"Hey," Oren greeted, his shield, Rogue Paragon, on his back. "How are you?"

"We're doing fine," Math replied. "Just got through with a bit of sparring."

"Would you care for a match?" Ren offered to the Lynx Faunus.

"Sure," Oren answered. He pulled his shield off of his back and held it so it covered his torso. Ren walked over and pulled out StormFlower, protruding the blades for combat. When Oren saw the sharp weapons, he slowly lowered his shield and started to hyperventilate.

"Whoa, whoa!" Math shouted, rushing over to grab Oren's shoulders and stop him from possibly having a panic attack. "Calm down." Oren slowly stopped hyperventilating, allowing Math to slowly guide him to a chair to sit down.

"Is he okay?" Ren asked, putting away his SMGs.

"He did this before when we were attacked on the train," Math brought up. "When he…saw my sword." Oren's breathing became normal and he slouched back on the chair, letting out sighs of relief.

"What was that?" Math asked. "You did that before when you saw my weapon back on the train."

"I…I'm sorry," Oren apologized. "It's something I've been struggling with for years."

"Struggling?" Ren asked. "Why do you freeze and hyperventilate at the sight of a blade?"

"I…it's not something I'm open about saying," Oren replied. "All I'm comfortable with saying is that I had a terrible experience with a blade and it's traumatized me ever since."

"Okay, we won't pry," Math responded. "But I need to ask: why haven't you done anything to deal with it?"

"I have tried," Oren claimed. "I just…I can't find a solution that'll help me."

"Then what do you do when you freeze up in battle?" Jaune asked. "Surely, you must have some kind of method or something. That can really put others and yourself at risk." Oren shook his head ashamedly, denying Jaune's claim.

"What happened stuck with me my entire life," the Lynx shield user informed. "If someone I trust isn't nearby to shake me out of it, then…"

"Well, there's bound to be several blade users at Haven tonight," Math brought up. "Are you sure you're up for-?"

"I am," Oren sternly confirmed. "I know I have some issues, but I'm not standing by and watching Haven be destroyed." Math smiled and put his hand on Oren's shoulder.

"You've got heart," he complimented. "I definitely admire that. Who taught you how to fight?"

"I was taught by my dad," Oren answered. "I actually didn't come from Mistral, I came from Mantle."

"Mantle?" Math asked. "What made you come down here?"

"Well, he wanted me to study outside of Atlas because he was afraid of me being mistreated there," Oren went on. "At first, I studied at Sanctum Academy, where Pyrrha trained. I challenged her a few times, but never won; I'd judge how my skills were improving by seeing how much longer I'd last against her each time."

"You fought Pyrrha?" Jaune asked. "Was she…different than she is now?"

"No," Oren denied. "No matter how popular she became and she was quite popular, she never let it get to her head. She was always very friendly and always willing to spar with the other students."

"Yeah," Math agreed. "That woman's one in a million."

"After I graduated Sanctum, I told my dad I wanted to apply for Atlas Academy, but he refused. He wanted me to go to one of the other major academies; when I asked why, he told me 'Huntsmen aren't soldiers or mercenaries for hire, they're defenders of the innocent. They stand against corruption, no matter what. Atlas Academy will not teach you that.' I applied for Haven instead and met my teammates."

"Do you still keep in contact with your dad?" Math asked.

"I write letters to him when I can," the Lynx answered. "In Atlas, Faunus who aren't enrolled in the Academy are forbidden from using the CCT."

"Is he doing okay with everything that's been going on?" Jaune asked the shield user. Oren shook his head.

"Not really; ever since the Fall of Beacon, he's been having trouble finding work. Even when he got a job, the store he worked for was run out of business by the SDC. If he doesn't find a job soon, he may lose the house."

"Why not ask Silvio for help?" Jaune suggested. "With the Wild Hunt now declared terrorists and their leader gone, it should be safe to bring him here."

"Even if I wanted to, I can't," Oren replied. "Mantle is literally in the shadow of Atlas. No one is getting in or out of those kingdoms without permission from the Atlesian Council."

"Well, it sounds like Silvio's family has some major connections," Math brought up. "Are you sure they can't get your dad out? I mean, I don't think Ironwood is going to fuss about one Faunus getting out."

"Things are very tense between the Steels and Ironwood right now," Oren revealed. "Ever since Atlas's borders were closed, the Steels have tried convincing him to do otherwise for the sake of the other kingdoms; clearly, it fell on deaf ears. I can't get my dad out."

"We're sorry," Ren replied. "Then let's hope he remains safe."

"Me, too, Oren agreed. "Well, I'll talk to you later. I'll go check with Luna real quick about tonight."

"Okay," Math responded. "Talk to you later."

-0-

"_You're always so hopeful." _

Ruby remembered those words from before the Fall of Beacon. Indeed, she had always held onto hope not just for the sake of leadership, but because it's who she was. She was always the optimist, always the one to look on the bright side, even when everything seemed dark.

"_Ruby often knows the right thing to do." _

The red-cloaked Huntress leaned on the railing of the balcony, wishing those words had never been said. While she still believed for the future, she hated that many looked to her to be their beacon of hope. To her, this forbade her from showing weakness, giving into sadness or even expressing herself other than hopeful and optimistic.

She was tired of always having to be the one to keep everyone going while the rest were ready to throw in the towel. She could tell that several members of the group were ready to give up, mostly because of their immense distrust towards Ozpin.

If Raven was right about one thing, it's that she truly didn't know the former Beacon Headmaster. He had shown himself to be quite a control freak, wanting everything to go his way, even if it posed more harm than good. He had a bad habit of keeping information from his allies, which made Ruby wonder if Ozpin would truly keep his promise. Based on what Forest had told her, the odds of that happening were slim.

She was the one who kept insisting that everyone continue the fight against Salem, not for Ozpin, but for Remnant and to prevent the tragedy of Beacon from happening again. She had tried so hard to stay strong and hopeful for others when she herself had her own issues to deal with, but felt unable to do so.

"Hey, Ruby," Silvio greeted as he walked onto the balcony.

"Hey," she replied.

"I…hope you didn't take my choice badly," the Steel brought up. "I'm just trying to keep people safe."

"No, I understand," Ruby replied. "It's a smart choice, especially…when we can't tell you." Silvio raised an eyebrow at Ruby's body position, leaning on the railing as if bothered by something.

"Are you okay?" he asked, walking up to her.

"I…I don't know," Ruby finally admitted, being around someone who didn't know her.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Silvio questioned. Ruby sighed and looked up at the Steel.

"Do you know what it's like when everyone looks to you to be a beacon of hope?" she asked. "You have to stay hopeful and optimistic for everyone, despite having your own stuff to deal with?"

"Is that how you feel?" Silvio directly asked the leader of RWBY. Ruby looked down and sighed heavily, allowing her optimistic demeanor to be replaced by a sad and conflicted one.

"All my life, I wanted to do what was right. I always considered myself an optimist, one who looked on the bright side of things, but now…it doesn't feel like myself, it feels like a responsibility everyone expects of me. It feels that if I give up, everyone gives up and that…that's just not fair to me. I have my own problems to deal with, such as…" She stopped as she remembered the young, innocent girl who was her friend.

"Penny."

"Penny Polendina?" Silvio asked. "You mean the girl who was…?"

"Yes," Ruby confirmed. "She was my friend. I met her a few months after I entered Beacon. She was easily one of the kindest people I ever met; she was always ready to greet people with a smile, just like Pyrrha. And that evil…that evil bitch, Cinder…" She closed her hands into fists, showing her immense anger towards the Fall Maiden.

"Cinder Fall?" Silvio asked for clarification.

"Yes…or whatever her real name is," Ruby answered. "Emerald, one of the people helping her, tricked Yang into injuring Mercury and Pyrrha into killing Penny. She manipulated everything to destroy Beacon…for the sake of power." Her sadness was slowly turning to frustration.

"When do I get to deal with my issues? Why do I always have to be the one to smile and say 'don't give up' when I…WHEN!?" Ruby sat down in a chair, her head in her hands as she recovered from her sudden outburst. Silvio sat down next to her, his expression one of understanding.

"You feel like the burden is yours alone," he pointed out. "It's not." Ruby looked up at him.

"What?" she asked.

"When I formed the Militia, there were many times I wanted to quit because I felt I had to bear the responsibility of leadership alone," the Steel explained. "Is that how you feel? That you have to carry this burden alone?"

That was exactly how Ruby felt. She had carried the burden of leadership on her shoulders for months, especially after the traumatic loss of her friends and school, with no one to share it with. Everyone had their own issues to deal with and often looked to Ruby for moral guidance, to feel better.

"Yes," she answered.

"It doesn't have to be your burden alone," Silvio replied. "As I said, there were many times I wanted to quit, to shrug off the responsibility. But I didn't and do you know how?"

"How?"

"Because of my friends, Team COAL. Leadership is not a burden you bear alone; you need to depend on others just as they need to depend on you. Sometimes, you need to talk with anyone not as a leader, but as a friend, to tell them how you're feeling. Team COAL, especially Luna, helped me ease my burden and even helped me carry it. Maybe you should do the same."

Ever since she became leader of Team RWBY, she thought leadership was something she'd need to carry alone, a badge she'd need to wear constantly. She had carried the burden alone for so long and it was taking a toll on her.

"Your friends are here to help you carry this burden as you've helped carry theirs," Silvio added. Ruby looked up and smiled at the Steel before hugging him.

"Thanks," she replied. "I needed that."

"Any time," Silvio responded and got up from his seat. "I have to go to Haven, make sure the defenses are prepared."

"We'll be there when you need us," Ruby assured.

"Go talk to your friends when you can," Silvio insisted as he left Ruby on the balcony.

That talk alone helped Ruby. Leadership was not a burden carried alone; she depended on her teammates as much as they depended on her.

**Author's Notes: Make sure to read these other stories I've been reading! **

**Someone Special (Yang x Male Reader) by SlinkyDog **

**ALMD by Je'daii1298 **

**Make sure to vote on the poll for either how many stars you'd give the series or your favorite member of MRRN. Peace out! **


	26. Before the Battle

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 26: Before the Battle**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

"So, you used to be a terrible cook?" Yang asked Luna as the young women were sitting in the living room.

"I was," the Wolf Faunus admitted.

"I could vouch for that," Saf snarked, remembering how she was once the victim of Luna's terrible meals once. Luna chuckled.

"All I have to do is show one bad meal to someone and they'll do whatever. It's honestly real funny sometimes, especially when I knock them out, accident or not."

"Oh, stop it!" Saf interrupted with a frustrated tone.

"Stop what?" Luna asked, making the spear wielder glare at her.

"You're disgusting," Saf replied. Luna narrowed her eyes at the spear user and stood up, her fists clenched.

"What did you call me?" she asked. Safirlas stood up and walked over to stand in front of Luna.

"I said you're disgusting," she repeated. "It disgusts me that you find such entertainment with torturing people."

"I only do it to my enemies. Don't act like I do it to my friends."

"Don't do it to your friends!? How many times have you used other people as test subjects for your 'cooking', only for them to pass out? One of them was even sent to the ER for food poisoning. You honestly think that's funny?"

"Fine, maybe I didn't have as big a grip on my sadism back then, but not only did I improve my cooking-"

"That's not the point! You take pleasure in hurting people, in seeing their pain, friend or enemy. When you fight, you take your time killing an enemy when you should be focused on helping your friends." Luna gave Safirlas a death glare, hating how badly she was judging her.

"I do NOT enjoy seeing my friends hurt…and one thing you're omitting is that most of the people I gave terrible food to were bullies, racists, and people who needed a lesson in manners. I'm so sorry I'm not a saint like you, Mrs. Self-Righteous."

"Excuse me?" Saf barked.

"You're a hypocrite," Luna pointed out. "You're always getting on people for their flaws while ignoring your own. You claim that Huntsmen need to stay focused and think above themselves, but what did you do when Beacon was destroyed? You sat around, feeling sorry for yourself and blamed Mathdon for what happened to your teammates." Saf was shocked silent by what she just heard.

"Yeah, Math told me," Luna informed. "We know the risks we signed up for; they chose to fight. Yeah; real noble of you to blame your brother and sit around doing nothing while we were fighting to defend Mistral!"

"All right, enough!" Pyrrha spoke, walking between the two of them. "The attack on Haven is tonight. We cannot be at each other's throats right now."

"I'm not the one with a sadist streak the length of Mistral," Saf responded.

"Oh, sure, everyone gets to be judged but you," Luna mocked. "You think you've had it rough? Trust me; I've dealt with my own crap in life."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked. Luna sat back down as did Safirlas; when she was sure they weren't going to fight again, Pyrrha sat down too.

"I was born outside the kingdoms," Luna revealed. "A village far north of Mistral. I lived with my mom; my dad…left before I was born."

"Your…dad left you?" Saf asked, her tone changed from contempt to sympathy.

"He didn't know I was born," Luna continued. "Everything went okay until we…we suffered a Grimm attack. My mother…didn't make it. I hated the Grimm for what they did, for killing my mother." Her fists tightened in anger at the memory of losing her mother at a very early age.

"I was just a young girl at the time. After I lost her, I survived the wilderness for several days until I ran into some warriors outside Mistral. They taught me how to survive, even helped me make my weapon. When I became 13, I enrolled in Cliff Academy here in Mistral before coming to Haven."

"What about your dad?" Weiss asked. "Did you ever find him?"

Luna was quiet for a moment. She already knew who her father was, but didn't know how to say it quite yet. The only person in the room who knew was her teammate, Aria; everyone else was in the dark of who her dad was.

"I've been looking for him," she answered. "I hope to find him someday."

Yang looked away, her heart feeling a connected sympathy for the Wolf Faunus. Like herself, she had spent years looking for her father, just as Yang had spent years looking for her biological mother, Raven. She only hoped that Luna wouldn't be disappointed as she was.

"When I kill Grimm, yes, I take pleasure…but it also helps me…to find some peace with my loss. So when you wonder why I'm such a sadist…there's your answer."

By now, the contempt Safirlas had for the Wolf Faunus was gone. While she would never completely accept her sadism, she could understand what it's like to need a coping mechanism. She forced herself to silently admit that she had poorly judged her because of her dislike for her sadistic tendencies…and her terrible cooking of which she was once a victim.

"I'm sorry, Luna," Saf apologized. "I didn't know."

"Well, now you do," Luna pointed out. "I shouldn't…have said those things about you."

"Hey, guys," Nora called out as she came out from the kitchen with a plate of food that she was preparing to eat. Luna's eyes widened in shock as Nora was about to eat it.

"Nora, don't eat-" The hammer girl ate the food. Suddenly, her face became deathly green before she fell onto the floor, unconscious.

"Nora!" Pyrrha called out as she rushed over to her teammate.

"I…had that in case the interrogation with the Wild Hunter we caught didn't cooperate," Luna replied. Saf groaned with annoyance at the event that just transpired.

"She'll be awake soon," the wolf assured. "It's not that bad...I think."

-0-

Needless to say, when Nora woke up, she was not happy about what happened. As a result to keep it from happening again, Silvio had the bad food thrown out, even though Luna didn't like it.

By the afternoon, everyone prepared to go to Haven and make sure the defenses were properly prepared. As previously discusses, several of the group members, along with Luna and Oren, would stand guard in the Grand Hall while everyone else remained to fight for the militia.

"Are you ready?" Cole asked Math as the two were preparing their weapons as the evening was arriving.

"As ready as I'll ever be," the wolf swordsman replied.

"Then be ready to change your emblem after this," Luna snarked. "It looks too much like mine."

"What?" Math scoffed. "Sure, it's a wolf too, but it also has a sword and shield. Yours is just a wolf."

"Just change it," Luna replied.

"What's your issue here?" Math asked, unsure of what the problem was. "There's nothing wrong with my emblem; at least mine looks better than yours."

"What'd you say!?" Luna barked before pouncing onto Math and the two started fighting in a dust cloud.

"Get off of me!" Math snarled as they kept fighting. "And stop messing up my beard!"

"You look like a hillbilly with that beard!" Luna insulted as their fight continued on.

"Guys," Cole tried to break them up, but they were fighting too loudly to hear him. He groaned in frustration and walked over with one of his scimitars unsheathed. He then activated the Ice Dust and slashed at the cloud, stopping the two from fighting by being stuck to the ground by the ice, Luna by her torso and Math by his arm.

"We have a battle on the horizon," Cole reminded them. "We cannot be fighting each other just because you have similar emblems."

"Okay, okay," Luna replied before using one of her scythes to break free of the ice while Math used Torrach to free his arm.

"What is the meaning of this?" Leo barked as he emerged from the Grand Hall. "Haven Academy is not a military camp! I demand you all leave immediately!"

"Professor Lionheart, the Iron Knights are attacking tonight," Silvio informed. "You were told by Cole Stone about it."

"These Iron Knights are professionally trained warriors," Lionheart pointed out. "Your militia are hardly trained to take on such soldiers."

"What is wrong with you?" Luna barked, walking up to Lionheart. "Are you really turning away the only help you have? Like it or not, the Bushi militia is the only thing left that can defend Haven."

"We'll call for professional Huntsmen," Lionheart suggested. "This is not work for children."

"We are HARDLY children anymore," Yang spoke. "So we don't give a damn about what you want. We're staying to defend Haven, whether you like it or not."

Inside, Lionheart was silently panicking. He knew that the Iron Knights outnumbered the militia greatly, meaning they'd be slaughtered along with anyone who fought with them. He was trying to avoid a possible battle between the two factions, but his efforts were falling flat; there was no way he could convince the militia to leave.

"Fine," Leo responded with much regret. He looked over to Silvio with some contempt.

"Your family name will not protect you forever."

"Is that a threat?" Luna snarled, ready to reach for Lunar Diviner.

"No," Leo quickly answered. "I'm simply stating that when the battle arrives, these Iron Knights will not care about who he is."

"Trust me, I know," Silvio answered. "I learned that when they tried to kill me on the Anima Express." Leo walked back inside, but before he could close the doors, several people, including Luna and Oren, walked inside.

"What is this?" he asked. No one answered; instead, they closed the doors behind them, sealing them away from everyone else. As Lionheart walked up the stairs, knowing how bloody tonight would be,

"What's going on?" Qrow interrogated.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Glaucus scoffed. "You haven't been yourself. You lied to me about not seeing any other Huntsmen in Mistral. You blatantly ignore our warnings about an attack on Haven. You-"

"I told you I did everything I could!" Leo barked. "It's not my fault the Council doesn't like me."

"You're making excuses," Pyrrha pointed out. "The Council would never ignore the possibility of an attack on Haven, especially after what happened to Beacon."

As the argument carried on, Yang looked around the place and, to her surprise, saw a black raven perched on the railing upstairs. She looked around the area to see that there were no open windows and the only glass was in the ceiling, yet hadn't been broken.

"How did that bird get in here?" she wondered loud enough for Qrow to hear. Everyone looked over to the raven; Qrow grabbed Harbinger and shot at it, but missed. The bird flew behind Lionheart…and transformed into Raven Branwen.

"Raven?" Yang gasped, shocked by what she saw.

"What was that?" Ruby asked. "I thought her Semblance was portals." Raven took off her mask and smirked at her twin brother.

"If you're going to shoot me, then actually do it," she said. "That was insulting."

"What are you doing here?" Glaucus questioned, reaching for the sword in his staff.

"I'm here thanks to you people getting me dragged into this mess," Raven responded.

"How did 'we' get you into this mess?" Jaune questioned. "We're not the ones who harbored the Spring Maiden, despite not wanting to be in this war."

"War?" Oren asked, equipping his shield and pointing the shotgun at Raven. "What are you talking about?" Raven ignored the question and started to walk down the stairs, holding her mask in her hand.

"Yes, I harbored Spring, but you gave Leo the coordinates."

"What?" Glaucus gasped. "What is she talking about?"

"I…" Leo tried to answer, but couldn't finish.

"He did what any sane person in his position would do," Raven answered. "He looked at all the evidence in front of him and made a choice…as did the rest of you." Yang glared at her mother, her fists tightened in anger at the woman she had spent years looking for.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me again," Raven told Yang in a condescending tone. The blonde brawler's eyes narrowed much more at the bandit, her eyes red with immense anger.

"Why would I be happy to see you again? You abandoned me and acted like you did nothing wrong. No, I'm disappointed to see you again, to know that the woman I spent years looking for as selfish and hypocritical just as Tai told me."

"Your father and uncle are fools!" Raven snapped at her daughter.

"Fools for wanting to beat Salem?" Qrow asked. "You're more of a cynic than I remember."

"Besides, who are you to call us fools?" Weiss questioned. "You harbored someone you knew Salem would be after. If anything, you're the fool."

"I'd shut your mouth if I were you, Schnee," Raven threatened before turning to face Ruby and Yang. "I gave you both the chance to leave; you should've done so."

"And turn our backs on those who need us?" Ruby questioned. "We're not selfish cowards like you." Raven's condescending smirk was becoming one of anger, hating that they were calling out her flaws and hypocrisy.

"There's nothing cowardly about choosing not to fight a war you cannot win."

"What is cowardly is turning your back on others just so you can save yourself," Yang replied. "Just as you turned your back on your team."

"They made their choice and I made mine," Raven justified. "I'm not being a coward, I'm being smart."

"Keep telling yourself that," Glaucus insulted. "You're nothing more than a selfish and despicable fool who won't live up to the morals she preaches. Your 'survival of the fittest' philosophy is nothing more than you covering your own cowardice and selfishness. Grow up and face reality!"

"You're the ones who need to face reality!" Raven snarled. "Not facing reality is part of what got Summer killed." She then looked over to Qrow.

"Did you tell them about what happened to her?"

"What is she talking about?" Yang asked.

That was the question both Luna and Oren were asking themselves. Who was this woman? Who was Salem? Who was the Spring Maiden? What is all of this?

"I'm talking about his Semblance," Raven answered. "Ozpin sent Qrow and Summer on a mission together, only for his Semblance to cause them not only to get ambushed by Grimm, but for her to fall off a cliff to her death. She…was my friend." Just then, Oscar's eyes glowed and he walked forward to the woman.

"_If you care about Summer so much, why weren't you there to save her?" _Ozpin questioned. _"You ran away when she needed you; even after Qrow told you, you dismissed her as a fool. You have absolutely no right to mourn her death." _Leo and Raven's eyes widened at the young boy, knowing that he was harboring the soul of the former Beacon Headmaster.

"O…Ozpin!?" Leo called out, backing away in fear of this revelation.

"Ozpin!?" Luna and Oren gasped.

"Oh, please," another voice spoke up. "Don't pretend to care about the lives you destroy." Everyone looked up to see Valkoin Viisaus on the top floor, who then leapt down and landed in front of the group.

"Valkoin?" Glaucus asked.

"Hello, brother," he greeted before saying "Hello…Ozpin."

"_Valkoin," _Ozpin addressed coldly.

"What right have you to mourn the deaths of those who fight for you?" the wire user questioned. "You demand that they put their lives on the line for a war that cannot be won, two of whom…were our parents."

"Parents?" Jaune asked. "What do you mean?" Valkoin sighed and took off his shades, showing his cold, angry eyes.

"Do you truly know why the Spring Maiden ran away?" he asked. "It wasn't because of the 'weight of responsibility', it was the truth: Salem cannot be beaten."

"What are you talking about?" Weiss asked. "How would you know?"

"Because she unlocked the Relic of Knowledge for me," Valkoin answered. "The Relic revealed what happened to our parents: you enlisted their help, drove them to their deaths and then took all of our wealth for your damn Academy."

"Is this true?" Glaucus questioned Ozpin. Ever since the last time he fought Valkoin, he remembered what he had said about their parents. However, considering everything that had been going on, he didn't feel it was the right time to bring up such a topic. Glaucus knew that Ozpin had taken the family fortune, but claimed that he didn't know they had children at the time.

"_What he said is true," _Ozpin confessed. _"I did ask your parents for help." _

"And you took the family fortune, knowing that it was rightfully ours and lied about it for almost all our lives," Valkoin stated.

Glaucus's blood boiled at what he just heard. Ozpin had lied to them all these years, knowing that the Viisaus fortune was rightfully theirs, yet took it and left them with nothing before entering Beacon. He had taken their family, their home, their parents...if it weren't for the fact that Ozpin was in Oscar's body, he would've beaten him bloody.

"_But how he found out, I don't know. The questions were used up before I sealed it away; it's impossible that he used the Relic." _

"Liar!" Valkoin roared. "You got my mother killed! You drove my father to suicide! You took everything from me!"

"Enough of this already," Raven groaned. She used her weapon to open a portal; upon opening, a fireball was shot at Ruby, causing her red Aura to shimmer as she fell to the ground.

"Ruby!" Yang called out as she rushed to help her up. Then, to everyone's shock, three familiar and one foreign face walked through the portal.

"Hello, boys and girls," Cinder greeted.

"You," Pyrrha snarled, pointing Ekdikeo at her nemesis.

"Oh, look, the Invincible Girl," Mercury taunted. "And the blonde bitch who broke my leg."

"That was a hallucination," Yang reminded the assassin. "You set me up."

"So?" Emerald asked. "No one will believe you. To them, you're the hot tempered sadist who broke an innocent boy's leg."

Qrow tightened his fists and gave a death glare to his sister. He knew she was selfish, but never thought she'd ever ally herself with Salem. There were so many words he wanted to describe his sister as, but kept his tongue in check for now.

"How long have you been with them, Raven?" he questioned.

"Oh, don't be mad," Cinder replied with a coy tone. "Your sister was a more…recent addition. But the lion on the other hand…"

"Professor?" Luna asked, looking up to Lionheart.

"Entrance into the Vytal Festival was an absolute treat. Your esteemed Professor Lionheart has been sending Salem all kinds of information for years." She looked up to see Leo's shameful scowl.

"Aww, don't be sad. You served us well."

"Stop it," he growled, hating that Cinder was gloating about his betrayal.

"It was you," Qrow stated to the Haven Headmaster. "You sit on the Mistral Council. You had information on every known Huntsman and Huntress in the kingdom…and you gave it all to her."

"Qrow…I…"

"I thought that I was just looking for them at the wrong time. But that's not it; they were killed…because you sold them out to Salem."

"What?" Oren gasped. "Professor, say this isn't true." All Leo could do was look down at them with immense regret and shame in his eyes.

"Professor!" Luna cried out. "Tell us you didn't do this!"

"Oh, but he did," Cinder grinned. "He made our job much easier."

"You…you evil monster!" Pyrrha growled. "How can you stand to cause so much suffering and death, so much misery…and do it all with a smile!?"

"Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl," Cinder addressed. "Good to see you again."

"And you, a fake Maiden," she responded. Cinder's arrogant smirk was immediately replaced by an angered one.

"Fake?" she questioned. "I took what was rightfully mine."

"Rightfully yours!?" Pyrrha roared, her anger and contempt unleashed on the red devil. "You maimed and murdered an innocent girl so you could take them for yourself! You stole them for your own selfish desires, destroying countless lives in the process!"

"Don't you dare speak to me like that," Cinder calmly responded, yet her voice filled with seething anger.

"You said those powers weren't truly mine," Pyrrha reminded Cinder of what she said on the night they fought atop Beacon Tower. "They weren't yours either! You're so caught up in your delusions of being a so-called goddess that you won't accept that you stole something that was never rightfully yours! You're not a goddess, you're a thief, a murderer, and most of all, you're a parasite!"

Cinder's eyes flared as she summoned a scimitar and charged towards Pyrrha, her blade clashing with Ekdikeo. Her expression was full of rage and wrath, hating Pyrrha for calling her out on how she obtained the Maiden's powers.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby called out, running over to help her, but was stopped by Emerald's weapon.

"You're not going anywhere near her," she told the reaper.

-0-

"Did you hear that?" Jinse asked.

"Hear what?" Math responded.

"It sounded like a…blast," Jinse explained. "It sounds like it came from the Grand Hall."

"Why would-?" Math asked, but stopped himself.

"Forest?" he asked his mentor. "Did you say Raven's Semblance allowed her to summon portals?"

"Yes," Forest confirmed. "Why?" Math looked over to the Grand Hall, his eyes widened in horror.

"I think something's going on in there," he informed. "Should we go check?"

"TAKE COVER!" Silvio shouted. "Rockets!"

"Rockets!?" Math gasped as he heard the projectiles fired right at them. The militia hurried behind their barricades and took cover from the rockets, even though some without Auras were still killed by the explosions.

"Knights…" a voice in the distance shouted, belonging to the Oni. "ATTACK!" Like a river that burst its banks, the horde of Iron Knights charged forward at the Bushi militia, firing their guns at them with ferocity.

"Attack!" Adam Taurus ordered his own troops, coming from the opposite side of the Grand Hall. Just like the Iron Knights, the White Fang charged in like a stampede, firing at the Bushi militia.

"Open fire!" Silvio ordered as he fired upon the enemy. Forest unsheathed Rohkeus and gazed upon the two hordes that were attacking Haven Academy.

"So it begins," he said and transformed his weapon into an assault rifle.

**Author's Notes: The Battle of Haven has finally begun! With the differences I've made in Volume 5 so far, it'll be interesting how this battle turns out. I know I was disappointed in the Battle of Haven in canon, so I hope to do a better job. Make sure to keep reading and if you have any constructive criticism to offer, please leave a review or PM me. Keep reading, my fellow writers! **

**Also, a shoutout to Darth Stigma, who's been like a beta reader for me. He's been helping me a lot, especially with Team COAL, and I want him to know how much I enjoy his help! Thanks, man!**


	27. A Fiery Battle

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 27: A Fiery Battle**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

"Take the Schnee heiress," Raven instructed Vernal. Before she could speak more, she quickly drew her blade to block Qrow's attack. There was only one word she could use to describe the emotion on her brother's face: betrayal.

"Running away was one thing," he snarled. "But this? You crossed a line."

"I do what I have to do to survive," Raven replied. "I'm not a fool like you."

"But selling out your own daughter?" Qrow pointed out.

"She made her choice," Raven stated. "I guess family can really disappoint you sometimes." She felt a powerful force hit her face, sending her into the wall. When she recovered, she could see that it was Yang who punched her.

"We are NOT family anymore," she snarled. "Qrow and Dad were right; you're nothing but a selfish coward."

"Yang, don't," Qrow warned, holding up Harbinger to stop her. "She's too much for you."

"Why would I ever want to be family with you, Yang?" Raven asked as she got up. "This is your fault."

"My fault!?" Yang roared, her eyes blazing red.

"If you hadn't come to my camp, then I wouldn't be in this mess," the Branwen claimed. "You want to know why I left you? Because you would've made me weak."

"Weak?!" Yang scoffed. "I'm stronger than you'll ever be."

"Really?" Mercury asked before trying to kick Yang from behind, but missed. He threw several more kicks at her, but she blocked before punching him a good distance away.

"Say, I think you owe me an apology for my leg, don't you think?" Mercury taunted.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Yang responded. "I'm sorry I didn't break every bone in your body, you miserable piece of shit!" She launched herself towards Mercury, engaging in a martial arts match with him.

-0-

"Well, well," Vernal addressed Weiss as she activated her weapons, appearing to be large deer horn knives with gun barrels. "Never thought I'd ever fight a Schnee." Weiss glared at the bandit and pointed Myrtenaster.

"I am more than a name," she replied.

"Really…princess?" Vernal asked with a smirk. Weiss dashed forward, unleashing a flurry of strikes at Vernal, who was taken by surprise at how fast she was. Vernal managed to counter attack, but Weiss slid beside her and slashed her torso with her rapier, casing it in ice.

"So much for a 'mighty bandit tribe'," the Schnee replied as Vernal broke the ice on her stomach. "I'm not a helpless villager like the ones you're used to killing."

"There were never a challenge, so they weren't any fun," Vernal responded. "But you might." She shot at Weiss, but missed as she dodged to the side.

"You're quick," the bandit remarked. "But I've learned that people who are very fast usually can't take a hit." She threw her weapons at the Schnee, but were stopped by a wall of ice. Vernal smirked before running forward, pulling her weapons out of the ice and leapt over to attack Weiss.

To her surprise, she was gone. She was alerted when she heard several Glyphs summon around her in a circle; before she could react, she was getting hit from all directions by Weiss, bouncing from Glyph to Glyph and not giving Vernal a chance to counter.

However, Weiss got cocky and Vernal managed to land a hit on her, breaking her pattern of attack and sending her tumbling.

-0-

Jaune joined the fight against Cinder with Pyrrha, swinging his heavy sword at her, but missed, leaving him open to attack from a fireball which sent him flying. Pyrrha twirled her spear at Cinder, knocking her blade aside and hitting her face with the spearhead, causing her orange Aura to shimmer.

"You should've died that night," Pyrrha snarled. "You don't deserve those powers." Cinder glared at the Amazon and unleashed a blast of flame at her, which she blocked with Agapas and then against the Maiden's fire scimitar.

"I'm the ONLY one who deserves these powers," she growled. Jaune swung at her, but she dodged and slashed at him with her weapon, then jumped to stand in front of the two warriors.

"What makes you special?" the Arc questioned. "I don't see why you're the only one who deserves those powers; if anything, you're the LAST person who deserves them!"

"Be silent!" Cinder roared as she unleashed waves of flame at the two of them. "Who are you to question me?! I am powerful and you should fear me."

"I don't fear people who rely on stealing what's not their's," Pyrrha dissed. She threw Agapas at Cinder, then charged forward to kick it straight into her head, knocking her off balance. When the Maiden recovered, she looked up at Pyrrha, her scowl of condescending arrogance replaced by pure rage.

"You do NOT get to judge me!" she barked. "You have no idea what I've been through to get what I deserve!" She raised her weapon to block Jaune's blade, though she did feel some power from the strike.

"And make thousands of people suffer so you can have you want?" Jaune growled.

"Why should I care!?" Cinder questioned. "They don't matter to me." Jaune's eyes widened at Cinder's complete lack of empathy and utter selfishness.

"So you want people to worship and love you...when you don't know the first thing about love?"

"Who needs love when you can have obedience?"

"You don't know anything about love! You don't know what it means to care about anyone but yourself! Your heart is so full of hatred and greed; that is exactly why you don't deserve those powers! You never deserved them and you never will!"

Cinder threw a fireball in Jaune's face from her covered sleeve, causing his white Aura to shimmer from the attack. Unknown to the Maiden, her fighting had become less graceful and more bestial as the fight went on, the cause of it being Pyrrha and Jaune calling her out.

"You stole what wasn't yours to take!"

"You've endangered millions so you could have the Maiden powers!"

"You don't deserve those powers!"

Cinder refused to believe it. She refused to believe that she had stolen the Fall Maiden's powers; instead, she reclaimed them. Amber was unworthy of such power, Vernal is unworthy of such power. Only Cinder was worthy of such power and no one had the right to tell her otherwise.

"I should've killed you the night we fought," she told Pyrrha. "But now, I'll make your death as painful and agonizing as possible until I burn you to ashes!"

-0-

Outside, the Iron Knights and White Fang were pushing the assault on the militia as they closed in on their positions.

"Keep pushing them back!" Adam ordered as he unsheathed his weapon and rushed in.

"Swords!" Silvio ordered. "Front line, swords!" The first line of militia put away their guns and unsheathed their katanas and wakizashis, prompting many of the Huntsmen students to do the same. Almost immediately, the Iron Knights and White Fang pulled out their melee weapons too and jumped over the barricades to attack Haven's defenders.

Math bashed his shield into an Iron Knight's face twice, followed by stabbing another in the stomach. He then threw Torrach at a White Fang with enough force to break their neck, then used his sword to bounce it against another White Fang and then used his gauntlet to retrieve his shield.

Robin activated Sharp Shot's sword mode, knowing that he'd barely get any shots in close quarters. He deflected the weapon of an Iron Knight, then sliced their neck, causing it to bleed profusely. He slid under another Iron Knight, sliced their legs and then stabbed them in the back.

Nasser used his shield's center piece to push a White Fang back before cleaving into their chest with Hafashahn. He then used his Semblance when he swung his axe against another White Fang's weapon, shattering it and cleaving into their shoulder with ease.

As Ruo killed a White Fang with a twirl of Huzhao, he saw Adam Taurus fighting near him, impaling his sword into a militia fighter. The White Tiger Faunus snarled, remembering what the Bull Faunus had done to the woman he loved.

"ADAM!" Ruo roared, immediately catching the Bull Faunus's attention. Adam pulled his sword out of the dead militiaman and glared at the White Tiger through his mask.

"You!" he snarled, pointing his blade at Ruo. "My brothers and sisters told me about you. You betrayed us!"

"I was NEVER one of you," Ruo denied. "I was forced into joining your cause."

"Were you forced to kill your own mother?" Adam challenged. The White Tiger's eyes narrowed at the White Fang leader, his teeth bared almost like a predator ready to pounce on its prey.

"I…I didn't want to do it," he confessed. "But she was consumed by her hatred, just like you."

"Just like me?" Adam asked. "You think I do all this because of my hatred for humanity?"

"What other reason is there?" Ruo asked. Adam sheathed Wilt into Blush and moved his hand to remove his mask; when Ruo saw what was on his face, his eyes widened in horror at the brutal scar that spelled SDC.

"This is what I learned; humanity is incapable of showing us kindness willingly," Adam stated, his voice firm in his belief, yet also showed hints of pain and sorrow. "If we don't fight back, every Faunus in the world will be branded like an animal like I was."

"I almost thought like you, Adam!" Ruo admitted. "I used to think that humanity was cruel and that they needed to suffer as we had. But I was wrong; all this violence, all this killing, it won't end the prejudice. I've seen what hatred does to people…it destroys them, just like it almost destroyed me. Don't you understand? You're not helping people, you're only hurting them."

"How can humanity learn to treat us with any kind of respect if we don't subject them to the same cruelty they inflicted upon us for centuries?" Adam questioned. "I have seen too much, watched many of my brothers and sisters die because of humanity's lack of compassion…I won't stand by anymore. I will do whatever it takes to help the Faunus."

"Then I'll do whatever it takes to stop you," Ruo replied. Adam bared his teeth and rushed the White Tiger, unsheathing Wilt to strike; Ruo blocked the blade with Huzhao and headbutted Adam, followed by a twirling kick. The White Tiger pounced at Adam, only to have his attack blocked by Wilt; during the strike, Ruo noticed Adam's hair and blade glow red, possibly being his Semblance.

Adam considered using his Semblance, but realized that the fighting was so close quarters that he could end up hurting one of his own brothers or sisters. For now, he had to save it for later to avoid hurting his own troops.

Ruo slashed at Adam once more, this time Taurus dodged the attack and struck the Tiger with a swift attack of Wilt before sheathing it back into Blush. Ruo hit the wall of a building, but quickly recovered to continue his fight against the Faunus who maimed and traumatized the woman he loved.

-0-

Ruby swept Crescent Rose's blade underneath Emerald, who flipped to dodged the attack, but was left open to a blast from the sniper weapon, hitting her right in her chest. The red cloaked Huntress then rushed forward and landed a hit on the green-haired girl. Emerald groaned as she got onto her feet, activating her weapon's gun mode.

"I trusted you!" the reaper shouted, her voice filled with the betrayal she felt. "You helped murder Penny!"

"Why should we care?" Emerald asked. "She was a robot; odds are she'll just be rebuilt." Whatever mercy Ruby had left for Emerald vanished when she spoke that statement.

Just a robot. Easily replaceable. Not real.

Not in Ruby's mind.

"SHE WAS MY FRIEND!" Ruby shouted before using her Semblance to charge forward. Emerald unleashed a barrage of bullets on the girl, but seemed to do nothing to stop her. She rushed behind Emerald and then struck her heavily with Crescent Rose, hitting her into a pillar.

"This is for her," Ruby snarled. She lifted Crescent Rose up and prepared to impale Emerald with it.

Nothing happened.

Emerald looked up to see the blade of Ruby's scythe caught in a large, bared hand. She looked up the arm to see none other than Hazel Rainart, who had stopped Ruby from killing her.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized. Ruby slid the blade out of Hazel's hand, but failed to react in time to avoid Hazel punching her square in the stomach, sending her flying.

"Hazel, how'd you get in here?" Emerald asked as she retrieved her weapon.

"Back door," he answered. "Valkoin left it open for me."

-0-

From above, Leo watched the battle unfold, unable to make a move. He didn't know what to do, especially since his treason had been exposed by Cinder. He found himself conflicted about which side to fight for.

He was broken out of his thoughts when he saw Oscar walking up the steps. He activated his cane and glared at the Haven Headmaster.

"I'm sorry, Ozpin," Leo apologized. "I didn't have a choice." Oscar's eyes glowed, meaning Ozpin had taken over.

"_I trusted you, Leo!" _he barked. _"I made you Headmaster of this Academy even when everyone else told me not to!" _

"I…I don't have a choice," Leo responded, his voice desperate and anxious. "Salem cannot be beaten, she cannot be killed. You knew this all along…didn't you?" Ozpin was silent, unsure of how to respond.

"All our efforts have been for nothing," the Headmaster went on. "No one can stop her, no one."

"_And that justifies what you've done?" _Ozpin questioned. _"Beacon…you helped Cinder get in. You knew what would happen and you still helped them." _Leo looked down with immense regret in his eyes, hating himself for his betrayal.

"_You sold out every Huntsman in Mistral to save yourself! You were my friend, Leo!" _

"And I thought you were my friend!" the Haven Headmaster roared. "Where were you when I needed you for those three months? Salem tortured me all that time…and you did nothing."

"_I didn't know," _Ozpin claimed. _"I swear, if I had known Salem had captured you, I would've tried to save you." _

"It doesn't matter anymore," Leo believed as he activated his shield. "If I bring you to Salem, I can finally be free of all this. I can finally be free!"

"_Turning me over to Salem will not end this." _

"It will. She'll be so pleased with me, she'll let me go."

"_Salem doesn't 'let people go'. Once pawns serve their purpose to her, she disposes of them. Take me to her and she'll dispose of you." _

"I will be free!" Leo activated the Fire and Earth Dust in his gauntlet and shot at Oscar; instead of harming him, it only hit his dark green Aura. Oscar's eyes glowed once more, allowing the farm boy to take over.

"I'm sorry, boy," Leo apologized. "But I won't be a part of this any longer." Oscar dodged the next attack and swung his cane at Leo, who extended his shield and blocked the weapon. The Headmaster then kicked Oscar back and hit him square in the jaw with his shield.

"I may be old, but I still have much more experience than you," Lionheart claimed.

"Don't make the mistake of underestimating me," Oscar replied. With speed, Oscar unleashed a frenzy of cane strikes on the Cowardly Lion, some landing and some blocked by Lionheart's shield. However, despite his skills, Leo was holding his ground against the farmboy; like he said, he had far more experience due to his years as Headmaster.

-0-

"Hold the line!" Silvio shouted as he killed another Iron Knight. "Hold the line!" He blocked the blade of another Iron Knight and slashed his throat with his wakizashi.

By now, the Iron Knights and White Fang's numbers were starting to overwhelm the militia's. They were holding their ground, but it would only be a matter of time until their position was overrun, especially with the Oni and Adam Taurus having joined the fight.

"Sterling!" Ruadh called out as he cleaved his axe into a White Fang's stomach. "Seven already!"

"I'm on twenty!" Sterling cockily replied before shooting an Iron Knight straight through their helmet.

"I'll have no Snow Fox outscoring me!" Ruadh responded. He quickly blocked another Iron Knight's weapon before sweeping his axe under their feet and cleaving into their chest.

Jinse flipped over an Iron Knight, grabbing their head as she did and slamming him into the ground, breaking his neck. She raised her arm to block another Knight's weapon, then twirled and kicked them twice before punching him with an Aura-charged fist hard enough to smash his helmet into his face.

She looked behind her to see Ruo engaged in a fight with Adam Taurus, who appeared to be fighting on par with the White Fang High Leader. She caught sight of an Iron Knight aiming at Ruo; assuming they had AB ammo, she quickly grabbed the gun's barrel, aimed it up at the Knight's helmet and pulled the trigger.

Mathdon bashed his shield against an Iron Knight climbing over the barricade, knocking them to the ground. He then slashed another Knight across the back and then impale them in the chest with Dochas-Mhadaidh.

When he looked to his left, he saw the Oni fighting among the Knights. Math had been informed of how powerful they are, even being able to fight on par with a veteran like Forest. After what happened with Nachtfel, he knew he couldn't fight it alone; he needed help.

"Behind you!" Robin warned as he shot a White Fang about to attack the swordsman.

"Thanks!" Math responded.

"Any time," the archer reciprocated. Math then pointed with his sword to the Oni, a good distance from them.

"He's the Knights' commander," he informed. "We take him out, they'll be leaderless."

"Isn't that an Oni, the same Knight Forest told us about?" Robin asked.

"Yes," Math confirmed. "Think we can take him?" The archer smirked in a cocky manner.

"Let's do it," he agreed, prompting the two young warriors to charge forward. Math threw Torrach at the unsuspecting Oni, hitting his helmet and alerting him to the two warriors. He reacted in time to block Math's attack; while he was distracted, Robin appeared from the side and shot at the samurai, who miraculously caught the arrow. However, due to this distraction, Math retracted his blade and slashed at the Oni's neck, doing some damage.

"Nachtfel told me of you," the Oni addressed Mathdon and Robin. "You're the ones who sabotaged our plan in the north. I will truly take pleasure in killing you."

"No, you won't…because you won't kill us," Math replied.

"And it's time for you assholes to pay for what happened to Beacon," Robin added. The three warriors charged towards each other, prepared to fight to the death.

-0-

Valkoin threw two spears at Oren, which he blocked with his shield; the spears unexpectedly unraveled and then wrapped themselves around the Lynx, causing immense damage to his Aura. Luna summoned one of her Spectral Wolves to attack Valkoin from behind, biting into his leg and causing him to release Oren.

"Cute trick," Valkoin complimented as he turned the wires into a pair of axes. "But not enough." He quickly jumped to avoid a blast of gravity Dust shot from Glaucus, who then brought his weapons down on his brother. Glaucus crossed his weapons to block the attack before pushing Valkoin away.

"Now do you see?" the wire user asked Glaucus. "Ozpin took everything from us. He needs to suffer for what he's done."

"And what of the suffering you've inflicted?" the Gray Wanderer. "You think helping Salem will bring you peace?" Valkoin rushed up to Glaucus, their weapons making contact once more.

"Peace is beyond me now. But for the sake of our family, I must end this."

"If you wanted to end this, you should've fought for us," Glaucus pointed out before summoning a wind of flame upon the wire user. Valkoin dodged the attack and threw two wire spears at his brother, who deflected them with a blast of gravity Dust.

"Fight for the man who stole everything from us!?" he barked. "I'd sooner swear loyalty to Jacques Schnee and I loathe that man."

"You're no better than him!" Oren shouted. He shot several shotgun shells at Valkoin, who summoned a wall of dark matter to block the projectiles. He then transformed the wall into a dozen spikes; he wrapped his wires around them and brought them all down on Glaucus, Oren and Luna. When the dust cleared, none of them were deeply hurt by the attack.

"You've become consumed by your hatred, brother," Glaucus pointed out. "I could never help you destroy innocent lives."

"Then prepare to die!" Valkoin threatened.

-0-

Ruby used her Semblance to fly upward and then bring her scythe down on Emerald, who dodged and shot at the reaper. Ruby twirled her weapon to deflect the bullets before shooting back at the woman who helped kill Penny.

"Ah!" Ruby looked over to see Weiss on the ground, her weapon out of her hand. Vernal slowly walked up to her and aimed her weapon at the Schnee heiress, preparing to finish her off.

"NO!" Ruby's eyes glowed with a silver light, engulfing the entire room and blinding everyone, including Vernal. When it passed, Ruby charged forward and slashed at Vernal, knocking her away from Weiss.

"Are you okay?" she asked her friend.

"I am," she assured. "Thanks…" she mumbled something under her breath.

"What?" Ruby asked.

"My…BFF," Weiss reluctantly answered. As suspected, a huge grin stretched across Ruby's face.

"See?" she asked. "I knew you'd come around."

"Shut up," Weiss dismissed.

Cinder fell to the ground, grabbing her left arm in immense pain. Taking advantage of this, Jaune slashed Cinder's eyepatch, shattering it to pieces. When he prepared to finish her, Cinder blasted him with a fireball, knocking him to the ground.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out as she rushed over to help him. Before she could reach him, she was hit in the back with a fireball herself, stopping her from helping her friend. Cinder walked over to the Amazon and pinned her underneath her foot.

"Do you really think you ever had a chance against me!?" she roared. "I am the Fall Maiden and you are nothing!"

"No, Cinder," Pyrrha defied. "I am a Huntress. You're nothing but a selfish and pathetic egotist who relies on stealing what's not yours to take, just like the Maiden powers." The Fall Maiden took her foot off Pyrrha's back and grabbed her by her throat, lifting her into the air.

"You have no idea how much I've suffered!" she growled. "You have no idea what I've witnessed. I am the only one who deserves the Maidens' powers." She summoned a fire and glass javelin, looking very similar to Pyrrha's spear. She lined it up with the Amazon's chest, then made the spear burn wildly and profusely.

"Now…I will do what I should've done the night we fought!"

"No!" Jaune shouted, slashing at Cinder's arm with his sword and then again at her stomach, making her release Pyrrha.

When Cinder recovered, she looked at the two members of JNPR with nearly uncontrolled rage. They were beating her when she should be flawlessly killing them instead. There was no arrogance, no egotism in her scowl, only pure rage and malice.

She summoned another fire spear, but stopped for a moment before throwing it. She smiled sadistically for a moment and then threw the spear at Pyrrha, who recovered Agapas in time to block the projectile. Upon hitting her shield, the spear disintegrated and then recollected behind her as it kept flying through the air.

-0-

Ruby knocked Emerald down on the ground, having rushed to fight her again while Hazel joined Valkoin against Glaucus, Oren and Luna. The reaper didn't look anything like the innocent girl she once was; instead, she appeared as a woman who had lost so much and was intent on making those responsible pay.

"This is for Penny," Ruby stated before lifting her scythe to finish her off.

She stopped when she felt a searing pain in her torso, making her freeze. She slowly looked down to see a fire and glass javelin penetrating through her, her eyes widened in horror.

From afar, Yang stopped her fight with Mercury when she saw the horrid sight of her sister pierced by a javelin, undoubtedly thrown by Cinder. Raven, seeing the sight herself, couldn't help but feel regret for the action.

"I…I'm sorry, Summer," she apologized.

"RUBY!" Yang and Weiss shouted as their team leader fell to the ground.


	28. From Bad to Worse

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 28: From Bad to Worse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Cinder smiled at the fallen body of Ruby Rose, her glass and fire javelin having pierced her torso. The entire room had fallen silent at what had just transpired, faces of horror and shock on everyone's faces, especially Yang, Weiss and Qrow.

"Ruby…" Yang barely breathed, her eyes widened at the sight of her possibly dead sister.

"Ooh, that looked like it hurt," Mercury taunted. Yang's expression immediately changed from shock to rage in an instant. She threw her fist at Mercury, who dodged the attack with a backflip; to his surprise, Yang leapt after him and punched his back, sending him tumbling to the ground. She then proceeded to land in front of him and gave him a very brutal beatdown, punching him continuously in the stomach and chest. Mercury tried to counter with a punch; Yang grabbed his hand with her robotic one, revealing her eyes as a blood red color before she proceeded to break it, making him scream in agony.

"Don't you ever…mock my sister," Yang growled before punching Mercury into a pillar, possibly depleting what Aura he had left.

Meanwhile, Jaune and Pyrrha rushed over to the wounded Ruby; the Amazon tried to grab the spear and pull it out, but it burned her hands upon touching it, so she used Agapas to break it to pieces. As Cinder conjured another javelin, aiming for Pyrrha this time, her arm was held back by wires by a visibly angry Valkoin.

"What the hell have you done!?" he demanded to know. "We were ordered to bring Ruby alive."

"To hell with Salem!" Cinder barked, unleashing a blast of flame with her free hand before melting the wires on her other one. "I will not be denied my vengeance!"

"Salem will flay you alive for what you've done!" Valkoin stated. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you just caused for yourself!?"

"Salem will not kill me," the Fall Maiden arrogantly claimed. "Without me, she'll never get the Relic of Choice. She should be proud of me for killing Ruby."

"You dare behave like that towards Salem?" Hazel questioned. "That is sheer arrogance."

Distracted by the argument, Oscar took the opportunity to strike Leo with ferocity and send him tumbling down the stairs. He fell next to Hazel as Oscar rushed over to Ruby's side. Hazel looked down at the Haven Headmaster and held him up by his collar.

"Did you know about this?" he demanded.

"No, I swear it," Leo pleaded. "I swear I didn't know. I knew Cinder changed the plan-"

"Changed the plan?" Valkoin questioned. "And you didn't bother to inform us?" He looked over to Cinder.

"So that's why you're here; you changed the plan for your own benefit."

"For my vengeance," Cinder corrected.

"You just jeopardized this whole operation!" Cinder smiled dismissively.

"Maybe for Salem…but not for me." Before Valkoin could strike, he was held back by Emerald's weapon, allowing Cinder to hit him with a roaring pillar of flame, knocking him to the ground unconscious.

"Please, let me go," Leo begged Hazel.

"Why, so you can lose to that boy again?" the giant questioned.

"It's not just a boy, it's Ozpin. He's already reincarnated." Hazel's eyes widened and he dropped Leo onto the ground. He looked over at the boy, immediately noticing the cane he was holding…the same cane that belonged to Ozpin.

"Ozpin…" Hazel spoke under his breath, forgetting completely about Cinder's betrayal. His calm expression slowly changed to one of unrestrained rage, remembering the name of the Beacon Headmaster with extreme hatred.

"OZPIN!"

"_Oh no," _Ozpin gasped when Oscar looked up to see Hazel walking over to them with a menacing stance. The giant tore apart his jacket in a blind rage and took out two Lightning Dust crystals.

"He took her from me! You will die over and over and over!" He injected the Crystals into his arms, breathing heavily for a few moments until letting out a bestial roar, his eyes turned yellow and his arms crackling with electricity.

"What did he…?" Weiss gasped. "How can he handle that?"

"Hazel's Semblance numbs his sense of pain," Glaucus told the Schnee. "He can inject as many Crystals into himself as he wants and he wouldn't feel a thing."

Meanwhile, Raven and Vernal hurried over to Cinder, their expressions a mixture of shock and confusion. At worst, they were deeply disturbed by Cinder's shamelessly arrogant proclamation.

"You killed Ruby!" Raven told Cinder.

"So what?" she dismissed. "Is that a problem? Perhaps I should kill Yang too." Raven reached out and grabbed Cinder's hand, her eyes narrowed at the arrogant Maiden.

"We had a deal," she angrily reminded her. "I help you and you spare Yang's life. Otherwise, we leave right now and you'll be left alone to face Salem."

"Don't you speak down to me," Cinder demanded as she pushed Raven's arm away. "I make the deals here. Leo!" The Haven Headmaster turned to look in Cinder's direction, his scowl fearful and anxious.

"Open the vault!"

"But…but Salem-"

"OPEN IT!" Leo hurried over to the statue and placed the pocketwatch in the golden chain. The two clock hands spun quickly, a number of clicks went off before the platform moved down to reveal a passageway beneath Haven.

"Let's go," Cinder told Raven and Vernal.

Vernal walked on immediately, but Raven stopped for a moment to look at Jaune, Pyrrha and Weiss's attempts to revive Ruby. She had fooled herself into thinking she was okay with this; she was so distracted by her intentions to survive that she thought she could live with seeing Summer's child die.

She was wrong.

"Raven," Cinder addressed. "Let's go." Raven sighed heavily and walked onto the platform, then it descended beneath Haven Academy.

-0-

"How is she?" Weiss asked Jaune and Pyrrha, who had turned Ruby onto her back.

"She's losing too much blood," Pyrrha solemnly informed. "The wound…it's too big to sear shut."

"No," Jaune whispered under his breath. "No, we can't lose you, Ruby. We just can't. You can't die."

An idea suddenly came to Jaune's mind. He remembered how he escaped from drowning in the Mistral river: his Aura had somehow become stronger than before, allowing him to break the binds that kept his arms and legs from moving.

"Please work," Jaune silently pleaded. He held his hands out over Ruby, praying that the idea that just came into his mind would work.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked. To everyone's surprise, Jaune's hands glowed with his white Aura, transferring to Ruby as she was completely enveloped by it.

"She's stabilizing," Pyrrha informed, letting out a breath of relief. "Jaune, whatever you're doing, keep doing it."

"Nice trick," Emerald brought up as she swung her kusarigama weapon with a smirk. "But Cinder wants her dead and I'm going to make sure it happens." Weiss glared at Emerald, pointing her rapier at the disciple of the Fall Maiden.

"Pyrrha, keep them protected," Weiss instructed. "Jaune, keep her steady. I'll take care of her."

"You're welcome to try," Emerald taunted. "But you can't fight what you can't see or hear." She suddenly disappeared from Weiss's sight, leaving the Schnee confused.

"To your left!" Jaune warned. Weiss quickly launched herself off a Glyph and struck Emerald with her weapon, causing her to reappear.

The green-haired girl growled: her Semblance could affect one person at a time. Doing it to more than one would cause strain on her, depending on how many people she'd be using her Semblance on. If she used her Semblance on one, the others would be able to catch her.

"Fine then," Emerald snarled. "I don't need my Semblance to kill you, Ice Queen."

-0-

Ruo slashed at Adam, who dodged the attack and sliced at the White Tiger, narrowly missing him. The High Leader then took several shots at the martial artist, dodging them every time until one of the bullets hit his leg, making him stumble and left him open to an attack from the Bull Faunus.

"I wish you'd see things our way," Adam claimed. "It never brings me any joy to have to fight and kill my own people."

"I bet you found joy in killing Moss, didn't you?" Ruo asked.

"Why should you care?" Adam questioned. "The man was a racist murderer, just like Jacques Schnee. My hands are clean compared to theirs."

"They're the worst of the worst, I couldn't agree more," the White Tiger confessed. "So what happens after you kill people like them? Someone worse could take their place."

"Then I'll kill them as well," Adam replied. "We'll show them the cruelty they showed us."

"All this death and hatred won't end anything! All it'll do is keep going until the humans and Faunus are fighting for the sake of fighting!"

"The humans took everything away from me, everything I loved!" For once, Adam's eyes showed no hatred or anger, instead pure and indescribable pain and agony. His scowl almost appeared to break into sadness, but he quickly recollected himself to stay focused.

"The world can call me whatever it wants: murderer, hypocrite, terrorist, zealot, freak, sadist…monster. And you know what? I don't care! I won't stop until the true monsters of this world are nothing but bloody piles, just like Moss!" He rushed at Ruo and swung his blade, which was blocked by Huzhao.

"I know your pain, Adam," Ruo sympathized. "But this road is a dead end."

"It is for the humans who oppressed us!" Ruo clawed at Adam, hitting his face and following with a flip kick, knocking Adam to the ground. The High Leader quickly recovered and traded blows with the White Tiger as the battle continued to rage around them.

-0-

"See them yet?" Sage asked Neptune, who was keeping watch for the Iron Knight detachment.

"Nothing yet," the blue-haired boy denied. "Man, I wish Sun was here. His Semblance could come in real handy." Sage and Scarlet immediately noticed a rather sour look on Neptune's face, one he had been wearing a lot ever since Sun left to go after Blake.

"I'm sure he's fine," Sage assured Neptune. "Sun can take care of himself."

"Then let him," Neptune responded rather harshly.

"Whoa, dude," Scarlet replied. "No need to be like that. Sun spoke to us before he left."

"I'm just tired of him caring more about her than about us," the trident user expressed. "I mean…"

"Neptune, come on," Sage insisted. "Sun's your best friend."

"Yeah, well…as my best friend, he should've come back to Mistral instead of running after Blake. Everything's been going terribly here while he's probably sucking faces with her."

"You miss Sun, don't you?" Bolin asked.

Neptune would definitely be lying if he said he didn't miss Sun. The two of them had been best friends ever since they met at Haven at the start of the year.

He, Sage and Scarlet were often very patient when it came to Sun's antics, usually involving breaking the law, such as when he stowed away on a ship without his teammates. His constant disregard for rules often caused Sun to clash with Sage in their first months together.

"_Why can't you stop!?" Sage barked at Sun in their dorm after their leader had been caught stealing bananas from the marketplace. _

"_It was just a few bananas," Sun responded. "It's harmless." _

"_This isn't Vacuo, you idiot!" Sage shot back angrily. "The Faunus are not treated equally here! Faunus here can be lynched for the smallest of things, including what you did!" _

"_Dude, chill out!" Sun insisted. "I can take care of myself. I've been doing so for years." _

"_Well, like it or not, this isn't a lawless land where you can do whatever you want. There are laws to follow and, when broken, there are consequences." _

"_Guys!" Neptune called out, stepping between Sage and Sun. "Let's just calm down and take a deep breath. We don't need to fight."_

"_No, what we need is for Sun to shape up," Sage pointed out. _

"_Whatever," Sun dismissed. _

While the two didn't always see eye to eye, their relationship became much more positive over the time spent together. However, that didn't stop Sage from calling out Sun whenever he got into legal trouble.

Neptune's thoughts went elsewhere when he noticed how long the Knights were taking. They should've been here by now, but instead, they were nowhere to be seen. There was no way in Neptune's mind that the Knights would simply abandon the plan.

"Do you hear that?" Reese asked. At first, everyone didn't understand what she meant…until they started hearing faint talking coming from inside the cave.

"Oh, no," Neptune gasped. "They must've found another way in! We need to go!" Everyone prepared their weapons and hurried down the cave, keeping their ears open for the noise and hoping that the Iron Knights didn't find another way into the underground beneath Haven.

Their fears were confirmed when they found another passage from outside with boot prints on the ground.

"Hurry!" Neptune shouted.

In the matter of several moments, they arrived at where the columns were…and the Iron Knights, led by the giant Crusher, were already preparing the explosives.

"Huntsmen!" one of the Knights shouted, alerting everyone to SSN and BRN's presence.

"Huntsmen?" the Crusher questioned. "Kill them!"

-0-

Math blocked the Oni's katana with Torrach, retaliating with a slash of his sword at the Commander's head; as he was informed, it merely slid off the armor. However, the Oni didn't catch on in time to see Robin shoot a Fire Dust arrow at him, exploding on impact; sadly, it didn't appear to do any damage.

The archer kicked at the Knight's head, but the Oni grabbed his ankle tightly and threw him into Math, knocking them down. He then leapt into the air and brought his katana down on them, only to miss and be hit in the shoulder by a thrown Torrach.

The Oni freed his sword from the ground and pressed a trigger on the handle. The blade started to glow yellow, fueled by Lightning Dust, until it started crackling with electricity.

"Forest didn't tell us about that," Robin pointed out.

"Probably because the Oni didn't use that against him," Math suggested. The Oni charged at Math and Robin and clashed blades with the two of them, sparks flying off with each strike against their weapons. During the clashing of blades, the Oni kicked Robin aside and then punched Math's shield, causing it to shake and vibrate from the impact. He recovered to use Dochas-Mhadaidh to block the Oni's katana; the Knight pushed his blade closer to the swordsman's face, causing some of the electricity to crackle onto his face in pain.

A spearhead suddenly appeared, cutting the Oni's neck and causing the sludgy blue blood to seep from the wound. Math immediately recognized the weapon as Himmelkanten, just as Robin shot the Oni's knee.

"Are you okay?" she asked her brother.

"I'm fine," he assured.

Saf looked to the Grand Hall…and one of her visions happened again. A blue visage of a rocket soared through the air, blasting into one of the buildings and making it crumble onto everyone nearby. Two more followed after, one blasting into some of the defenders and the other…destroying their barricades.

"FIRE!" the Oni ordered. Just as Saf feared, the rockets were fired.

"Take cover!" Safirlas shouted. "Rockets!"

As she foresaw, two of the rockets hit the buildings in her vision, causing them to crumble onto the fighters nearby. The third blasted a portion of the barricades apart, causing several those nearby to get either blown away or blasted to pieces.

Robin shook his head as he tried to recover from the impact of the blast. He struggled to get onto his feet, shaking as he did. He slowly walked a few steps to recover Sharp Shot and looked around for his cousins; as he found Saf, an Iron Knight shot at his Aura, knocking him back down.

He could feel his Aura was more than half depleted, leaving him without much reserves. The Iron Knight walked closer and closer, preparing to kill Robin; the archer quickly nocked an arrow onto Sharp Shot's bowstring and aimed at the Knight.

To his surprise, the arrow started to glow red; at first, it appeared like his Aura until becoming almost a blood-red color. It distracted him for a moment until he realize how close the Knight was to him, so he released the arrow.

What happened next shocked him. The arrow shot right into the Knight, but instead of shooting out the other side, it dissolved. The Knight then quickly screamed in agony before he disintegrated into dust.

"What…?" Robin mumbled, unsure of what just happened. "First Saf's visions, then Math's flaming sword…what's going on?"

"Robin!" Forest called out to him, snapping him out of his thoughts of what had just transpired. "The barricade's been breached! They're pouring in!"

"The barricades…?"

Robin looked over to where a part of the defensive barricade used to be, which was now a wide open entrance for the Iron Knights and White Fang to pour in and attack the Bushi militia.

-0-

"The barricades are breached!" Silvio shouted. "Fall back!"

Math shook his head as he recovered from the explosion and turned his head around to look back at where the barricades were destroyed. Just as Knights were about to swarm him, Cole Stone leapt in front of them. He activated the Ice Dust in one his scimitars while digging the other into the ground; he then did a spin while dragging his other blade across the concrete and striking the Knights. He pulled his blade out, activated the Fire Dust in both of his swords and threw an X-shaped wave of flame at the Knights.

"Thanks," Math told the leader of Team COAL.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," the swordsman assured.

"Cole, Math!" Silvio called out. "Fall back!"

"Wait, where's Saf?" Math gasped, unable to see his sister anywhere.

"I'm here," she informed as she strolled over to him, her Aura having taken a toll to protect her from the blast. "I'm fine, my Aura protected me from taking any lethal damage."

"We need to fall back," Silvio told them once more. "We'll retreat to where our teams are. With our barricades in place, the enemy will be forced to funnel their forces to pursue us."

BOOM!

The enemies at the barricades were blown away by a grenade that emitted pink gas. The students looked to the side to see that the projectile had been fired by none other than Nora Valkyrie, wearing a smirk on her face.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked the warriors.

"We're fine," Math assured. "Did you see my teammates?"

"And Aria?" Cole added.

"They're falling back," Nora answered. "Now get your lazy butts moving!" Without hesitation, everyone fell back to the safe areas where they would be covered by the teams that had stayed behind to guard the safe zones.

Suddenly, one of the Bushi militia fell dead, having been shot in the chest. Two more were then killed, one shot in the head, the other in the stomach.

"What's going on!?" Cole gasped.

Forest looked up at one of the rooftops and was horrified; the teams were dead, having been killed by Iron Knights and their weapons taken. What they had hoped to be safe zones were now shooting galleries for the Knights.

"Stop!" Forest shouted. Everyone moved to wherever they could for cover, but because of the Iron Knights' having a clear view from above, there was very little cover to hide behind.

As Ruo took cover in one of their blind spots, he looked up at the shooters on the rooftops. He immediately recognized one of them as the one who led the attack on their house during the night.

"It's those same assassins!" he informed everyone.

"The ones we fought from that night?" Nasser asked for clarification.

"The same," he confirmed. Suddenly, more screaming was heard in the distance, unmistakably the other defenders getting gunned down in the other safe zone now they had been compromised.

"We have to take them out quickly," Saf told them. "Otherwise, they'll gun all of us down."

"Everyone, take cover!" Silvio ordered. "Who can get up there?"

"I can," Forest assured. "I can keep their attention long enough for some of you to get up there and take them out."

"How long can you distract them?" Silvio asked.

"For as long as I can," the eagle assured. He quickly changed into his Golden Eagle form and flew up to above the rooftop. He then descended onto one of the Assassins and scratched at their eyes with his talons.

"That eagle is a Huntsman!" Dagger called out. "Kill it!" Forest flew around as more and more Knights shot at him, but were unable to get him.

"Now's our chance!" Silvio stated. "Let's go!" Silvio and several others started to climb up the buildings as Forest continued to keep the Assassins' attention.

-0-

"I don't think is how a safe zone works," Nora told Ren, who were both hiding behind cover.

"The Knights must've killed the teams responsible for securing them," Ren suggested.

"The Iron Knights are on their way after us," Sterling informed. "If we don't take out those gunners, we'll be fish in a barrel for them."

"But we can't get a clear shot at them without getting hit by that AB ammunition," Ren pointed out. "We need a distraction before we can take them out."

"Allow me," Gaspar suggested. "My Semblance will make it hard for them to hit me."

"But they could have Aura Breaking ammunition," Ruadh warned. "If those bullets hit you, they could kill you instantly. Are you sure about this?"

"Yes," Gaspar assured. "While I'm keeping them distracted, blow them to hell." Before anyone could respond, Gaspar disappeared into a flash of gold light, appearing before the Assassins.

"Shoot him!" one of them shouted. As they hoped, Gaspar's Gold Rush Semblance allowed him to dodge the bullets fired at him, giving Nora and Ruadh the opportunity they needed.

"Rot in hell, bastards!" Ruadh roared as the two fired their explosive projectiles. The two explosions appeared to take out the Iron Knights, especially since the storm of gunfire had stopped.

"Well, that worked," Gaspar smiled. "Now we can-"

He was cut off by a bullet shooting right through his chest, having easily pierced through his Aura. The Dorado heir gasped for a few moments as blood seeped from his wound.

"Gaspar!" Ren cried out, rushing over to him along with Nora. "Hold on!"

-0-

Adam glared at the Oni with immense anger as he sheathed Wilt into Blush.

"My men could've been killed by that blast!" he barked. "What were you thinking!?"

"I was thinking we need to win at any cost," the Iron Knight Commander answered.

"Not at the cost of my men!" Adam snarled.

"The lives of your men mean nothing to me," the Oni dismissed. "My loyalty is to Nachtfel. He wants this Academy destroyed and I will see it done." The Oni hurried with the Knights to go down one way and pursue the militia.

"High Leader?" one of the White Fang asked.

"These Iron Knights…bloody fanatics," Adam growled. "Let's move."

**Author's Notes: I hope you're all enjoying this series still! If you can, please vote on the poll on my profile for your favorite member of MRRN or how many stars you'd give the series (I change it every now and then). Keep reading and writing! **


	29. Battlefield of Death

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 29: Battlefield of Death**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Neptune shot several times at the Iron Knights, taking two of them down with his electric projectiles. As two of them rushed in, he transformed his gun into a trident and slashed at the Knights, knocking them down with electric power.

"How did they know about the explosives?" one of the Knights asked.

"Doesn't matter," the Crusher responded. "Prime the explosives and kill the Huntsmen!" The Crusher was stopped by a giant blade crashing in front of him, belonging to Sage Ayana.

"You're not winning today," he sternly responded. Sage swung once more, his blade clashing with the Crusher's weapon.

"Only Nachtfel can change this world into one without suffering and prejudice," the Iron Knight Lieutenant declared proudly before retracting his axe and swinging several more times at Sage.

"Your 'future' is built on corpses," Sage stated with immense contempt in his voice. "How many died at Beacon? Here in Mistral? Atlas? Vacuo? Outside of the Kingdoms?"

All futures are built on corpses," the Crusher responded. "Only by destroying the source of the corruption can we free this world."

"Pretty high and mighty for someone who endangers the lives of millions," Neptune called out before shooting two more Iron Knights. The Crusher was about to attack Sage once more, but was hit by a powerful force. When he recovered, he saw that the force was Reese Chloris's hoverboard.

"Arslan is dead because of you," she growled. "I still remember her dying by being crushed to death by a Paladin…and you're going to pay for that, you bastard!"

She hovered towards him before spinning to hit him with one of her blades, which he blocked and pushed her away. He caught on in time to clash with Sage's blade several times, fighting on par with the swordsman.

After deflecting one of the strikes, he was hit again by the hoverboard, knocking him a bit off balance. It gave Sage the perfect opening to disarm the Crusher…and drive his blade into the Knight's torso, nearly tearing him in half.

"No!" one of the Knights shouted in terror. "Fall back!"

"But the explosives…" one of them spoke.

"We've lost too many Knights, now fall back!" Without hesitation, the surviving Knights fled from the caves, leaving the six students alone with the Crusher. He was now on his knees, breathing heavily as his hand lay on Sage's blade. He then finally coughed up some blood, landing near Scarlet.

"You…honestly think…Huntsmen are a force…of good?" the Crusher wheezed through breaths. "I've seen what you…you monsters have done…to innocent people. One day…you will…will pay…for the corruption you spread."

"We didn't do this," Neptune replied. "You did."

"You will…face your…end…soon enough…" His eyes started to grow dull, meaning the last of his life was leaving him.

"Nachtfel…save us…" His arm flopped off the blade that impaled him and hung his head as blood seeped from his mouth. The Crusher was now dead, so Sage pulled his blade from the Knight's body, allowing it to fall onto the ground.

"That takes care of the explosives," Sage stated. "We better get to the battle."

"Let's go," Neptune agreed.

-0-

"Gaspar!" Nora cried out, rushing over to his side.

He had just been shot in the chest, blood already seeping onto his shirt and torso. Nora put her hands on the wound to stop the bleeding, but no matter how much pressure she applied, the blood flow wouldn't stop.

"Gaspar," Ren addressed as he knelt down next to him.

"They…they shot my…" Gaspar tried to talk.

"Where?" Ren demanded to know.

"My heart," he answered. His eyes started to water as tears fell down his cheeks. Nora quickly noticed this and grabbed his hand with her own.

"I'm scared," he confessed. "I…I'm scared."

"Don't be," Nora tried to console. "You…you're a good person, Gaspar. You're going to a good place now." Gaspar looked over to Nora, smiling weakly.

"I'm sorry…for who I was," the Dorado apologized. "I spent my life…trampling over other because…"

"That was you back then," Ren stated. "This is you now. You're a good man, Gaspar. Don't forget that." Gaspar smiled as he remembered himself.

At the beginning, he was intolerably arrogant, selfish, perverted, and unkind. Only after his suspension did he become better; even then, he had never let go of the demons of the past. Now, being on death's door, he had to let go and be at peace.

"Send my body back to my father," he requested. "Let me…be buried…back home."

Gaspar's eye closed, his hand fell from Nora's and he stopped breathing. The two members of JNPR looked in shock as they realized that Gaspar Dorado had passed from this world.

"Gaspar…" Nora spoke mournfully, putting her hand on his cheek. "You…you didn't deserve this."

"Which is why we must continue," Sterling stated. The two looked up at him, both of their eyes filled with grieving for the young Huntsman who they never thought they'd mourn for.

"Gaspar indeed didn't deserve this; none of the victims in this war deserved this. If we don't stop the Iron Knights, then more will join them."

"Huntsmen!" an Iron Knight shouted from afar. "Kill them!" Sterling quickly nocked an arrow onto his bow and shot one of the Knights.

"Come on, Nora," Ren insisted, holding her hand. "We must continue this." Nora made eye contact with him and nodded her head.

"For Gaspar," she replied. The two of them activated their weapons and joined Sterling and Ruadh.

She shot a grenade at the attackers, prompting them to run from the explosive projectile. When it went off, several of them were killed by the explosion, along with destroying some parts of the nearby building.

"Keep pushing them back!" Ruadh cried out.

-0-

"Tell him, Ozpin!" Hazel roared as he grabbed Qrow and threw him against the wall, his eyes fixed on the farmboy. "Tell him how you killed her for your crusade!"

"What is he talking about?" Oscar asked Ozpin.

"_His sister, Gretchen Reinart, enrolled at Beacon Academy against her brother's wishes. During her first year, she…died on a mission. When Hazel was informed of his sister's death, he blamed me." _

"You took her from me!" Hazel shouted, giving out a bestial roar. "What did you tell you, that she died on a mission?"

"That's what he said," Oscar confirmed, grabbing the cane with both hands as Hazel approached.

"Liar! She died on a mission for HIS crusade, not for the safety of Vale! He sacrificed her life for his selfishness!"

"And what have you been doing?" Oscar barked. "Aiding Salem in killing innocent people, endangering millions, tearing families apart? Is this what your sister would've wanted?"

For just a moment, Hazel's rage subsided as he was hit with words harder than the strongest steel. Gretchen wanted to protect people while Hazel was destroying them; if she were alive, she'd be horrified by what he's done. Everything he was doing was spitting on his sister's memory.

"No…no, you're wrong," he denied, his expression changing back to one of a crazed monster. "She wasn't ready! She didn't need to die for his cause!"

"Maybe she didn't," Oscar agreed. "But she made a choice to help people…and I've made that choice too." Hazel breathed deeply, once again his expression of uncontrollable hatred subsiding.

"You are just another victim dragged into this war like she was," he spoke. "Your death won't be on my hands. It'll be on his." He brought his hands down to smash Oscar to pieces, but he quickly dodged the attack.

"_Oscar, please let me take over," _Ozpin insisted.

"No!" Oscar refused. "You said I need to fight my own battles, didn't you?"

"_You are not strong enough to fight Hazel. Please, you must let me take control for now." _

Again, Oscar refused and swung the cane at Hazel, which barely seemed to do any damage. Hazel let out a shout before throwing his fist at Oscar, hitting him in the torso and causing some electricity to crackle from the attack.

"_I'm sorry, Oscar." _

"Sorry?" Before Oscar could ask, his eyes glowed and he fell ono his knees. His confused expression was replaced with stern discipline and determination. Hazel's eyes widened as he realized who was now controlling the body.

"**OZPIN!" **

-0-

Emerald dodged Weiss's attack, their blades clashing with each other. Unlike in many of her previous battles, she couldn't rely on her Semblance against the Schnee; in order to affect more than one individual, she needed more concentration and effort, which she unfortunately could not find during a battle.

"If I had known who you were all along, I would've stopped you," Weiss snarled as he pressed Myrtenaster against Emerald's kusarigama blades.

"Well, guess you're not as smart as you think you are, Princess," Emerald insulted. "Oh, wait; you're not a Princess anymore. Daddy dearest disowned you. So…that makes you…nothing."

"I am far more than a name, Emerald," Weiss responded before summoning five glyphs surrounding her opponent. Before Emerald could react, Weiss bounced off the glyphs, striking her with such speed that she couldn't keep up. Unfortunately, her pattern of attack was broken by a wire, causing her to tumble and fall.

"Weiss!" Pyrrha called out.

"Don't!" Qrow told her. "Keep them off Jaune and Ruby!"

"What about Raven and Cinder?" Pyrrha asked. "They're heading down to the Vault as we speak."

"I'll go," Yang offered.

"Make that two," Luna replied. The two of them quickly made their way to the entrance of the Vault; Mercury tried to stop them, but Oren charged at him and knocked him down with his shield.

"Hurry!" he insisted. Yang and Luna then hurried to the Vault entrance, Luna using her kamas and Yang her robotic arm to descend safely after Cinder, Raven and Vernal.

"Bad move, kid," Mercury taunted, facing Oren. "You could've stayed alive if you didn't get in my way."

"And let you destroy Haven? Never." Mercury smirked, but quickly turned into a pained expression as he tried to clutch his fist; it was too injured to continue using in combat.

"Damn, she's stronger than I thought." Mercury leapt into the air, kicking at Oren's shield several times before landing a hit on Oren's face. The assassin kicked at the Lynx Faunus once more, only to have his attack deflected by Rouge Paragon before taking a shotgun blast to his leg.

"How are you not crippled?" Oren questioned. He found his answer when he saw the area he had shot; the loss of fabric in his pants showed metal prosthetics that suffered very little damage from the bullet.

"Prosthetics," the Lynx deduced. "Yang was set up!"

"Yeah, yeah, she was set up," Mercury groaned in annoyance. He raised his right leg to shoot several shots from his boot guns at Oren, who blocked all of the bullets; as each one hit the shield, Oren felt his Semblance activate. When Mercury attacked once more with a flip kick, Oren dodged and unleashed his Semblance upon the assassin with a powerful shield strike, sending the assassin flying into the wall.

"Joke about that," Oren growled.

-0-

"Kill that eagle!" Dagger demanded. Some of the assassins stopped firing, having been hit by a round shield with the symbol of a wolf. She was shocked to realize that it belonged to one of the Huntsmen she encountered during the attack to claim Ozpin's cane, which ended in failure.

"_Dagger, the eagle was a distraction!" _Cloak warned.

"Now I know," Dagger replied. "The Huntsmen are on the roofs! Take them out!" As two of the assassins took aim, they were disarmed and knocked to the ground, courtesy of an invisible Ruo-Jian. He then pounced onto another assassin, cutting their throat open and then threw the dead assassin's gun into another one.

Forest changed back into his human form and impaled Rohkeus into one of the assassins, then activated his gauntlet shield to block incoming bullets before rushing forward and taking down two more assassins with a quick strike of his blade. He then tossed his blade in the air, punched another assassin's gun up with his gauntlet and then caught his sword before impaling it through his opponent.

"Fall back!" Dagger commanded. "Fall back to the main force!" She didn't want to give that command, but their position had been compromised; if they remained they were bound to be killed by the remaining Huntsmen. The few remaining assassins leapt from the buildings and into the darkness of the night.

"Are you okay?" Mathdon asked his mentor.

"I'm fine," he assured. "We need to push them back to the quad; if they destroy the CCT, we're done for."

"Got it," Silvio replied before pulling up his scroll for the public militia channel. "All militia, form offensive formations and push the attackers back! We must push them back to the quad!"

"We may not have time," Robin suggested. "They could be preparing to destroy it as we speak." Just then, Silvio's scroll went off, the caller being Neptune Vasilias.

"What is it?" he asked.

"_We've stopped the Knights from setting the explosives," _he informed. _"We're making our way back to the front lines." _

"Well done, Neptune," Silvio responded. "But the White Fang and Iron Knights have taken the quad. You're the closest to the CCT; you must stop them from destroying it."

"_But if the quad's been taken, we'll be outnumbered. And the Iron Knights have Aura Breaking ammunition." _

"The Iron Knights and White Fang will be too focused on taking us down. The six of you should be enough. Please…we're cut off from the quad; we won't make it in time."

"_Okay; we're on it." _

"Thanks." Silvio hung up and took a firing position on the roof, along with several other gunmen while the melee combatants went down to the streets, preparing themselves for combat.

"Guys!" Nora called out as she, Ren, Sterling and Ruadh met up with the others. "Are the safe zones…safe now?"

"Yes, but we saw that assassin who led the attack on the house," Safirlas informed. "She escaped before we could capture her."

"Hold on…where's Gaspar?" Cole asked, noticing his absence. The expressions on Nora and Ren's faces died a bit after hearing that name.

"He's dead," Sterling answered.

"What!?" Mathdon gasped. "Dead!?"

"He was shot through the heart and lost too much blood," Ren informed sadly. "We weren't able to save him."

"Bastards!" Nasser growled.

"Forward!" the Oni commanded from in front of the militia, drawing his sword and leading the charge against them.

"Open fire!" Silvio ordered. The militia above on the rooftops started shooting at the Iron Knights. While some of them followed the Oni against the melee combatants, some of them took up firing positions and shot at Silvio and the militia gunmen.

"Dammit!" Silvio cursed as he and the gunmen took cover.

Below on the ground, the militia and Iron Knights clashed with each other, the Oni being the first to draw blood with a quick strike of his katana. He was sent flying into the wall by a powerful force; that force was Nasser using his Semblance on the Oni, who was soon joined by the rest of his teammates.

"Team MRRN," the Oni addressed. "You four have been a thorn in our side ever since that mission at the Council Hall."

"We won't let you win," Mathdon stated. "There will always be someone to stand against you and your master. You and your crusade will fail."

"Why would we fail?" the Oni questioned.

"Because your whole crusade against the Huntsmen is built on the suffering of others," Ruo stated. "You're not fighting for anyone but yourselves."

"Don't waste your breath," Nasser insisted. "They're fanatics; they'll never listen."

"Indeed, we won't," the Oni agreed. "Haven will fall and the others will be next!" The Oni activated Fire Dust in the katana blade and swung at the four Huntsmen, hitting Mathdon's shield while Ruo clawed at him with Huzhao, the claws infused with Lightning Dust. The Oni took several steps back as the electricity caused some discomfort due to the implants in his body.

"We should've brought the Berserkers," the Oni whispered. "They could easily change the tide of this battle."

"The implants in his body," Mathdon pointed out. "Use Lightning Dust!"

-0-

"Dagger!" Cloak greeted her sister as she rejoined the main force. "What happened?"

"They tricked us," Dagger answered, ashamed of that she didn't see through their simple ploy. "They've taken back the safe zones."

"Well, at least they're cut off from the quad and the CCT," Cloak brought up. "The White Fang are setting up explosives as we speak. But we have another problem."

"What is it?" Dagger questioned.

"I received a response from the detachment that were supposed to plant the explosives. They failed."

"How could they've failed?"

"The militia found out and sent Huntsmen to stop them. The Crusher is dead." Dagger sighed heavily.

"Nachtfel's lost yet another lieutenant. We need a backup plan now."

"We have one," Cloak responded. She then gestured to the White Fang setting up explosives on the CCT Tower. It would only be a matter of time before they'd be able to blow the tower sky high.

"This will be it, sister," Dagger spoke, putting her hand around Cloak's shoulders. "This has been a bloody path, maybe one our parents wouldn't be proud of, but this is the best path if we want a world without prejudice and hatred."

"I…I don't know about that anymore," Cloak confessed. "Is all this death necessary? All this suffering?"

Cloak had never stopped questioning their decision about joining the Iron Knights. She had suffered alongside her sister just like most Faunus in Mistral, but after seeing so much death, her uncertainty of their decision had become stronger than before.

"I wish it didn't have to be this way," Dagger replied. "But we didn't have a choice. When peace fails, violence is inevitable."

"More Huntsmen!" a White Fang member called out, pointing to six students coming from the forest.

"Cloak, get the explosives ready!" Dagger commanded. "Everyone not working on them, attack!" She pulled out her gun and opened fire at the students, forcing them to take cover behind the trees.

"We need to stop them from destroying the tower," Reese stated. "If they destroy it-"

"Then this battle's over," Scarlet finished. "And the Iron Knights will win again."

-0-

Cinder, Raven and Vernal descended deeper and deeper beneath Haven Academy, unaware that Yang and Luna were pursuing them. It was awfully quiet; Cinder smirked at the idea of having the Relic for herself, Vernal was uncertain of how the plan would unfold and Raven was worried for Yang.

Would Cinder truly keep her word? Would she allow Yang to live if given the opportunity? Or would she go back on it once her usefulness was outlived?

"This must be the first time in…well, I don't know how before someone's accessed the Relic before," Cinder spoke, breaking the silence. "Aren't you excited, Vernal?"

"Let's just get the thing and leave," Vernal spoke.

"Especially since Salem won't exactly be pleased that you've betrayed her," Raven brought up. "You really are loyal to no one, are you?" Raven fell to her knees when she felt a slap on her face.

"I've heard enough of your hypocrisy," Cinder snarled. "You abandoned your own family, your own team, your own tribe and your own daughter for your own safety. You have absolutely no right to preach to me about morals you clearly don't live up to."

"Don't do that again," Raven threatened. Before she could reach for her sword, Cinder already had a fire javelin aimed for her throat.

"Do not test me," she reciprocated just as the lift stopped and Raven put her mask on.

In front of them was a vast space, a single wide bridge, an endless abyss, a large tree glowing with small oranges lights. The three of them stepped forward to a golden gate that prevented them from crossing the bridge, prompting Cinder to hold her hand up and summoned a powerful blast of flame that forced the doors open.

"Vernal, when you open the door, I go in alone and take the Relic," Cinder instructed. "Do not try anything or this will not end well for you." Vernal started to walk towards the door in the tree's trunk, holding her hand up as she prepared to open it.

"Stop!" Yang called out. The three of them looked back to see Yang and Luna had followed them, ready for combat.

"I don't think so," Cinder smirked before using her powers to slam the gates shut and then set them aflame, preventing the two Huntresses from crossing the bridge. Right after, she smirked at Raven and shot a projectile of ice at her feet.

"Vernal!" the bandit leader cried out, only to be encased in ice. Vernal turned to aim her guns towards Cinder…only to feel an overwhelming pain in her torso. She slowly looked down to see a Grimm hand impaled into her body, belonging to Cinder.

"A Grimm arm!?" Yang cried out.

"No, you don't!" Luna shouted. She summoned a Spectral Wolf on the other side of the gate, which she directed to attack Cinder. The Fall Maiden simply threw a fireball to destroy the wolf and then used her power to make the flames burn much bigger, keeping the two Huntresses at bay.

"It's nothing personal," Cinder smirked as she walked up to Vernal. "It's just that you're not worthy of such power…but I am." Vernal used whatever strength she had left to spit onto Cinder's face.

"Go to hell," she growled.

"Big mistake," Cinder replied, wiping the spit off. She grabbed Vernal by the throat with her other hand and started to incinerate her as she absorbed the Spring Maiden's power. Vernal gagged for breath in agony before she was nothing but ashes. However, Cinder's expression changed from sadistic pride to confusion and anxiety.

"What is this?" she gasped, her Grimm hand covered in Vernal's ashes. "Where's the power? I absorbed it!" Raven then burst from the ice that she was trapped in.

"You couldn't find it," Raven barked, throwing her mask onto the ground. "Because Vernal wasn't the Spring Maiden…I AM!" Her eyes glowed with a red flame as she glared at the woman who just incinerated Vernal to death.

"What?" Yang gasped.

**Author's Notes: Hey, everybody! I hope you didn't miss me too much! I'll be switching back and forth on my MRRN and Brown Hound stories for a while. I hope you continue to enjoy both series. **


	30. The Tide Turns

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 30: The Tide Turns **

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

"You're the Spring Maiden?" Cinder gasped, completely shocked by this turn of events. "How…?" Her expression calmed a bit after realizing something.

Every time Vernal used her powers or such, Raven always wore the mask. At first, she thought she was just being rude, but it made perfect sense: the woman she had burned to ashes was a decoy to hide Raven as the true Spring Maiden.

"I should've known," Cinder spoke softly. "There's only one way you could've gotten the Spring Maiden's powers…you murdered her, didn't you?"

Raven didn't speak; instead, she launched her sword, then rushed to grab it before colliding it with one of Cinder's fire and glass blades.

"Raven…" Yang whispered, shocked by this revelation, especially since she heard Cinder accusing her of murdering an innocent girl despite the roaring of the flames engulfing the gates.

Had her birth mother truly fallen low enough to murder a young girl to steal her power? Was this truly the woman her father had fallen in love with once upon a time?

"We need to get this gate open," Luna stated. "My Spectral Wolves aren't strong enough to tear it open, not while it's on fire." Without speaking, Yang took out her Scroll and opened a channel with one of her friends: Pyrrha Nikos.

"_What is it?" _Pyrrha asked.

"We need you down here now," Yang informed her. "We can't get through without you."

"_But what about Ruby?" _Pyrrha asked. _"She's stabilizing, but she hasn't regained consciousness." _

"_Don't worry!" _Weiss was heard. _"I'll keep an eye on them. Go down and help Yang!" _

"_Okay. I'm on my way." _Pyrrha hung up, meaning that she was on her way down to help them.

"So…how do you know Raven?" Luna asked Yang with a curious tone.

"She's my mom," Yang answered.

"Really?" the Wolf Faunus asked. "Wow, she's a bitch."

"Unfortunately."

For now, all Yang and Luna could do for now was wait for Pyrrha to arrive so they could get into the battle between Raven and Cinder and prevent either of them from taking the Relic of Knowledge for themselves.

-0-

Valkoin threw a wave of his wires at Glaucus and Qrow; the scythe user dodged, but Glaucus was hit by one of them, hitting his gray Aura. The wire user then proceeded to throw several spears imbued with dark energy at Qrow; he quickly deflected several of the attacks and then rushed towards Valkoin. He brought Harbinger down on him, but was blocked by two wire bound spears.

"You truly are a fool, Qrow," Valkoin taunted. "Do you ever truly think you can do good? You bring nothing but misery and pain to everyone around you. That is after all how Summer died.

"Shut your mouth, you traitor," Qrow snarled, curving his blade and aiming the gun barrels straight at him, blasting him in the face point blank. The wire user looked down at the ground to see his shattered shades, obviously from Qrow's shotgun blast.

"Don't you understand?" Valkoin questioned. "Ozpin cannot kill Salem!" Qrow was about to attack again, but a fiery rock hit him, stopping his attack. The scythe user looked over to see Leo aiming his shield at him, having just shot the Dust-infused projectile.

"Take down Leo," Glaucus insisted. "I have business with my brother." Valkoin smiled deviously before using his Semblance to create several small dark portals.

"Indeed," he grinned before throwing his wires through the portals, forming spearheads at the ends, and straight towards Glaucus. The Gray Wanderer activated the Gravity Dust in his staff and unleashed a powerful blast, repelling all of the wires and knocking Valkoin against the wall near the unconscious Mercury.

"Nothing justifies the atrocities you've committed for Salem!" Glaucus roared. "You honestly think our parents would be proud of what you've become, of what you've done?"

"They certainly wouldn't be proud of us being pawns of Ozpin," Valkoin shot back. "I don't want to kill you, Glaucus, truly I don't…but you're giving me no choice."

Meanwhile, Qrow deflected a barrage of fireballs from Leo. When Qrow found an opportunity, he rushed towards Leo and hit him his shield, sending the Haven Headmaster back.

"Ozpin trusted you, Leo," Qrow snarled. "We ALL trusted you. Leaving Haven defenseless, leaving the Relic unguarded, not checking in with Ozpin for ages, stalling us from going after the Maiden…I should've seen it."

"Salem cannot be stopped," Leo responded, his tone a mix of regret, sadness and anger. "Ozpin has been on Remnant for thousands of years and he's come no closer to defeating her. She will win and she will destroy us all."

"Not if we stand against her," Qrow responded.

"Those who stand against her will fall first, just like everyone else who has served Ozpin," Leo replied. "Everyone else will follow. Your war, your chances of victory…are hopeless."

"The only hopeless thing I see is YOU!" Oren shouted, charging Leo with Rogue Paragon. The Haven Headmaster was sent tumbling into one of the columns, most likely from being the victim of Oren's Semblance.

"You betrayed all of Mistral!" Oren roared. "You sold out the Huntsmen who looked up to you! You've endangered all of Mistral's citizens! You helped destroy Beacon Academy! You are a coward!"

"I am," Leo admitted. "But I won't fight a battle I cannot win. I…I cannot be held accountable-"

"You WILL be held accountable!" Oren stated, activating the shotgun barrels in his shield and aiming for Leo. "You will answer for what you've done!"

Suddenly, the ground shook, startling everyone in the Great Hall. Taking advantage of the confusion, Leo made a break for it and ran away in a panicked state.

"Coward," Oren snarled.

-0-

Ozpin landed attack after attack on Hazel, being far too nimble for the giant to land even one hit on him. Hazel roared in anger as he threw punch at the Beacon Headmaster again and again, yet continued to miss.

"You will pay for taking her from me!" Hazel roared before shooting a lightning bolt from his arms.

"_Gretchen made a choice," _Ozpin responded. _"She knew the risks and she accepted them." _

"Don't you DARE justify this!" Hazel snarled. "She didn't need to die! You had no right to turn her into your pawn!"

"_Have you truly no sense left? I did not force her to do anything; I gave her a choice." _

"You gave her a choice, just like you did to Ms. Nikos? I don't think so."

Again, he was reminded of one of his darkest deeds, one that his allies would definitely never let up any time soon. He had promised a choice to Pyrrha, one that he was so confident that she'd accept to take the Maiden powers. Seeing her reject them awoke his desperate need for victory against the Grimm Queen, which came at the cost of most of those who once looked up to him.

"I will kill you over and over and over again until I finally destroy you completely!" Hazel reached into the satchels on his thighs and pulled out two Fire Dust crystals, then injected them into his arms along with his Lightning Dust crystals.

The fight between them continued, but Ozpin was getting worn out from the fighting and he was coming very close to being hit by one of Hazel's attacks. After dodging one of Hazel's punches, Ozpin slid under him and struck his knees with his cane.

"_This has gone far enough, Hazel. You have become blinded by your pain; even your Semblance reflects that. I wish I didn't have to fight you, but you left me no choice." _

Hazel quickly turned around and grabbed Oscar by the throat, his eyes filled with vengeance and hatred for the soul within him. He then proceeded to slam him into the ground again and again until his Aura was completely gone; when Oscar was left defenseless, Hazel then proceeded to choke him.

"Know this, boy; I'm sorry that you had to die. Your death is not on my hands…it's on his." Ozpin struggled to free Oscar from Hazel's grip, but the giant was too strong.

"No!" Ruby shouted before charging into Hazel, freeing Oscar from his grasp. Before Hazel could recover, he was getting hit with immense speed and power from the reaped Huntress. How did she suddenly become this powerful?

As this continued, Jaune hurried up to help her, but was stopped by Oscar. Again, he gave him a stink eye, despite the obvious exhaustion the farm boy was feeling from the intense fight with Hazel.

"So…that's your Semblance?" he asked.

"Yes," Jaune confirmed. "You're not wounded, so don't-"

"Shut up!" Oscar shouted, hitting Jaune in the head with his cane. "I've had enough of you giving me grief! I've done nothing to you!"

"You're just a fake!" Jaune claimed. "You're nothing but something Ozpin's using to deceive us, just like he deceived Pyrrha!"

"I AM NOT FAKE!" Oscar roared, almost scaring the Arc. "My name is Oscar Pine and I AM a real person! If you can't see that-" He fell to his knees, unable to stand for now due to his exhaustion.

"I am real," he almost cried. "My name is…and always will be Oscar Pine."

"Jaune!" Ruby called out after stopping her Aura amplified assault on Hazel. The Arc turned his attention to Hazel and sheathed his sword, turning it into a two-handed weapon. He charged forward, preparing to attack the giant.

Hazel thought he was prepared to defend against him, but as Jaune charged forward, his arms began to shimmer with his Aura and seemed to be channeled towards his blade. Jaune swung his sword and hit Hazel in the torso, causing him to crash into the wall of the Great Hall.

"Wow," Ruby gasped. "That Semblance…is AMAZING!"

"Whoa," Weiss gasped after seeing Jaune's Semblance. "How did he-?" She felt a pain on her back, caused by Emerald's attack with her kusarigama.

"So much for being more than a name," Emerald taunted. Before she could finish her, Ruby hit the green haired girl like a wrecking ball at light speed while Jaune rushed to Weiss's side.

"You okay?" he asked her as he helped her up. Instead of answering, Weiss grabbed Jaune's face with one hand and brought his lips to hers, taking the Arc by surprise. Before he could sink into it, Weiss pulled away, her face flustered and blushing.

"What does…what does that mean?" he asked, unsure of what just happened.

"It means…I like…I love you," Weiss confessed, trying her best not to be sharp and insulting as she sometimes was.

"As beautiful as that is, save it for later," Qrow interrupted as he fought against Valkoin.

Even though it was just for a moment, Jaune loved the idea that Weiss, the girl who once thought very little of him, now admitted that she had fallen for him.

-0-

Mathdon threw Torrach at the Oni, who deflected the shield with his katana, but was hit from behind when the wolf swordsman used his gauntlet to bring the shield back. This gave Ruo a perfect opportunity to slash at him with his Lightning Dust claws, striking behind his knees and clearly delivering some damage.

The Oni recovered in time to jump up and avoid Nasser's kinetic charge, then hit him with his katana that was infused with Ice Dust. The axe user used Hafashahn to stop his charge and turned around to swing at the Iron Knight disciple, hitting his armor; he thought his hit would send the Oni flying, but he merely went back several meters.

"Man, those enhancements are no joke," Robin stated as the fight continued. The archer changed Sharp Shot into its sword form and joined Mathdon in attacking the Oni, who flawlessly deflected all of their attacks. The Oni kicked Robin away, but left him open to a surprise attack from an invisible Ruo who clawed behind the knee with Huzhao.

The attack made the Oni stumble back a few steps as the Lightning Dust started to mess up the enhancements in his body. In the Knight's mind, he should've easily killed the four students by now, but they were lasting long since they knew where his weak points were and exploiting them. But how could they know?

Forest Kotka, the same veteran Huntsmen who several of the Oni were dispatched to kill, along with his friends, Sterling and Ruadh. He must've told them of the weaknesses in their armor that would undoubtedly leave them vulnerable.

"I need to finish this quick," the Oni deduced. Before he could attack, he was sent flying towards Mathdon, hitting Torrach and getting his neck impaled by Dochas-Mhadaidh.

"Thanks, Nasser," the swordsman responded. Before they could celebrate, the Oni grabbed Math's sword and slowly pulled it out of his neck, the blue oozing blood flowing from the wound. Everyone stood in shock of what just happened.

"How is he still alive?" Robin asked.

"I…will not be…killed…until the Huntsmen…are dead," the Oni breathed heavily. The demon pulled out a syringe and injected it into his neck, immediately causing the wound to seal back up and the injected area to be overrun with blue veins on the skin.

"What…?" Nasser gasped. "You sick piece of shit, mutilating your body with stuff like that."

"I…will never…stop," the Oni declared, activating the Ice Dust in his katana. Despite the wound being healed, the four students could see the Oni was weakened, possibly from using the drug he had just injected into his body.

That feeling suddenly went away when the veins started to spread through the entire Oni's body and then glowed. The Oni growled lowly, his voice much lower and beastly than before.

"That does not look good," Mathdon commented. The Oni let out a shout before charging towards the leader of MRRN, delivering a flurry of hits on him before grabbing the swordsman by the throat and slamming him into Ruo.

"Math!" Safirlas cried out before joining the fight, lunging her spear at the Oni's head. Unlike before, the Oni's attacks were blocked and deflected much more than before, thanks to Saf's Semblance. During their fight, Nasser swung his axe at the Oni with his Semblance charging the attack; as soon as it made impact, the Oni's helmet was hit right off. What they saw next disturbed everyone nearby.

"Are you even human?" Saf asked, seeing the grossly mutilated face of the Oni, their eyes glowing like a dead blue light and the veins covering their face like thorny vines. All the Oni could do was growl.

"Can you even speak?" Math asked with disgust in his voice. "You've maimed your body in such a way for what? For Nachtfel and his delusions about how he'll 'save the world'? You beast."

Again, Math's sword burned with the brown flames, the power that was completely foreign to him. His anger and rage towards the Iron Knights for committing such atrocities to the world and themselves made the flames burn bigger and brighter.

The Oni kicked at Saf, who jumped over him and drove the head of Himmelkanten into his exposed neck. Robin then fired two electric Dust arrows into the Oni's head, making the Knight gasp in pain pulling one of them out.

"Saf, move!" Math told her sister. As soon as she saw the blade burning with brown flames, she leapt back and allowed her brother to deal his attack. With one searing and powerful attack, Mathdon obliterated the Oni's head, finally killing him.

"Forest wasn't joking," Robin commented. "Those Oni are dangerous."

"Yeah," Mathdon agreed. "We need to keep pushing them back before they destroy the CCT."

-0-

"High Leader!" one of the White Fang addressed Adam during the battle. "Some Huntsmen are attacking our men at the tower! They need aid!"

"I'll go!" Adam declared. "Hold off the militia as long as you can! Once the tower has been destroyed, I'll sound the retreat!" The Taurus leader sheathed his sword and rushed away in the direction of the CCT Tower. On his way, he noticed the dead body of the Oni…which he barely recognized due to the horrific mutations on its body.

"There some lines even I won't cross," Adam mused to himself in disgust to the Oni's dead corpse. He leapt up onto a rooftop, hurrying back to the Quad to see six Huntsmen making their way to the CCT Tower, the White Fang and Iron Knights' numbers starting to dwindle. He leapt off the rooftop of the building he was on and landed firmly on the blue haired male with a trident.

"High Leader!" one of the White Fang called out. "Thank the Gods you're alive!"

"Everyone, stay focused on priming the explosives!" Adam ordered. "I'll take care of them!"

"Mind if I join in?" Dagger asked, wielding her wakizashi and gun knife. Cloak was about to join, but Dagger gestured for her to continue aiding with the explosives.

Sage was the first to attack, swinging his gigantic sword at Adam, but missed as the Taurus leapt up and shot his sword from his gun sheath, hitting Sage in the head. Adam rushed forward and grabbed his chokuto and landed two attacks on the green swordsman before using it to block Scarlet's cutlass.

As for Dagger, she flipped kick Nadir in the jaw, knocking him out for a while despite his Aura being active. Bolin and Reese attacked simultaneously against Dagger; while Bolin attacked closely, Reese attacked from a distance with her hoverboard. When she kicked it at Dagger, she simply kicked it back at Reese before shooting a bullet at Bolin's face, damaging his Aura.

Neptune, having recovered from Adam pinning him down, got up and fired several shots at the White Fang Leader. Adam unsheathed Wilt and blocked each attack, his blade and hair glowing red with each attack absorbed. Sage tried to take the opportunity to kill Adam, but the Bull Faunus dodged the attack and unleashed his Semblance on the swordsman, sending him flying into the wall of the Great Hall.

"Sage!" Neptune cried out. He transformed his weapon into its guandao form and slashed at the red swordsman, who easily deflected the attack. Scarlet attacked as well, swinging his cutlass at Adam, but neither him nor Neptune could land a hit on him.

Dagger activated the Wind Dust in her short blade and hit Bolin with it, sending him back a few feet before shooting two bullets at him. Nadir shot at the Faunus, but she dodged the attack and threw her spiked chain at him, depleting the rest of his Aura upon impact.

"Nadir!" Reese cried out before throwing her hoverboard at Dagger once more. Dagger slid underneath and swung her chain at Reese, hitting her torso and finished off her Aura with a quick strike of her wakizashi.

"ADAM!"

The White Fang leader looked up in the distance to see none other than Blake Belladonna, standing in front of the Mistral symbol on a building. She looked down on Adam, her pose filled with confidence and determination, a contrast to the usual reserved and shy young woman he once knew.

"Blake," he addressed, leaving behind the three beaten members of SSN. "You shouldn't have come."

"Then you shouldn't have ordered the attack on my family," Blake countered. "You shouldn't have attracted the Grimm to Kuo-Kuana."

"I did approve of attracting the Grimm as a means to keep your father busy," Adam confessed. "But I did not order the attack on your parents; that was the work of the Albains alone."

"It doesn't matter," Blake responded. "You cannot keep leading us down this path! You will start a war-"

"The war already started the day we were born!" Adam interrupted. "The war against our kind is waged every day because the humans think they can trample over us! I speak the truth when I say this: if you want peace or freedom or both…then prepare for war."

"Maybe you're right," Blake reluctantly agreed. "We deserve freedom and justice, but not through needless death and terrorism."

"I do what I must," Adam replied. "I'm guessing if you're here, the Faunus of Menagerie came as well."

"We did," Blake confirmed. Several Mistral airships arrived to the Academy; the first to jump off were Sun Wukong and Akela Dhoosar, their weapons ready to fight Adam along with Blake. Some of the ships lowered to the ground, allowing Faunus militia to jump off them safely, led by Ghira.

"This doesn't have to end in violence, Adam," the Menagerie Chieftain claimed. The bull shook his head in disbelief.

"That's always what you thought and what you condemned anyone for using," Adam retorted. "You value your beliefs and morals over the lives of the Faunus! But no more; Haven will fall and we will have justice!"

"High Leader!" a Faunus shouted as several White Fang emerged from the battlefield, preparing to help fight the militia.

"They've chosen to stand in our way," Adam decreed. "Kill them!" While Adam charged Blake, Sun and Akela, the militia and White Fang collided with each other.

-0-

"Where is she?" Yang groaned impatiently as the fight between Raven and Cinder continued.

"Right here," Pyrrha answered, landing on her feet. "Stand back."

Yang and Luna stood away from the burning gate while Pyrrha extended her arms and started to use her magnetism on them, trying to pry them open. The strain was easily seen on her face as she did everything she could, but the gates were much stronger than she anticipated.

But the Amazon knew that she had do what she could to pull the gate open. With all her strength, she blasted the gates open, leaving the way clear for the three Huntresses to join in the battle between Raven and Cinder.

"Yang!" Raven called out after pushing Cinder away. "What are you doing?" Yang didn't answer before Cinder unleashed a roaring inferno at the four of them, causing them to dodge the attack.

Luna summoned two of her Spectral Wolves and sent them towards Cinder, one pouncing onto her, the other biting at her leg. The Fall Maiden blasted the two wolves away before attacking Luna with one of her blades.

"A Grimm arm?" Pyrrha gasped in horror, seeing the abomination that replaced Cinder's left arm. "Is there no depth you won't sink to become a false Goddess?"

"Be quiet," Cinder snarled before blasting Luna away and conjuring a glass and fire javelin. "I am done with being denied what is mine. I want your death and I shall have it!" Cinder threw the javelin at Pyrrha, who dodged the attack and collided her spear with two of Cinder's glass blades.

"You're nothing more than a queen of delusions," Pyrrha snarled as she glared at Cinder in the eye.

During the fight, Raven tried making her way to the Vault, but was stopped when Yang and Luna leapt in front of her. While Luna prepared her weapon, neither Yang nor Raven did.

"I cannot let you leave with the Relic," Yang told her biological mother.

"I've come too far," the Spring Maiden responded. "Stand aside, Yang."

"No." The sun dragon refused to move, frustrating the bandit leader.

"I said move, Yang," Raven repeated. "I need that Relic."

Wham. Pyrrha was thrown against the wall of the Vault, alerting Raven; however it wasn't in time to stop being slammed against the wall by Cinder's Grimm arm, which started to drain the Maiden powers from her body. Yang and Luna rushed towards Cinder, attacking at the same time to stop Cinder; Yang threw a punch at Cinder's head, but Luna slid on the floor and hooked one of her kamas at Cinder's legs, pulling her down and releasing Raven from her grasp.

"At the end of it all, you're just a pathetic little girl," Luna taunted with a smile.

"Tell that to the bitch over there," Cinder claimed, pointing to Raven. "That bitch who is just as guilty of murder as I am."

"I'm nothing like you," Raven rebuked.

"You're right," Cinder agreed. "I'm better than you!" She summoned two swords and rushed towards Luna and Yang, making quick work of the two of them in moments. Raven unsheathed her sword and clashed with Cinder, pushing her away from Yang.

"I truly have a hard time seeing whether you love Yang or not," Cinder questioned. "You abandoned her, yet you want to protect her now."

"She was a pawn of Ozpin just as I was," Raven claimed. "She doesn't need to die."

"Maybe," Cinder smirked. "But I prefer if she did."

"Not happening!" Yang shouted before she and Raven joined together in fighting Cinder, landing attack after attack on the Fall Maiden. After one of the attacks, Cinder blasted Raven away and grabbed Yang with her Grimm arm, slamming her to the ground.

"Yang!" Raven called out. She hurried towards Cinder, dodging a projectile of ice thrown at her, but was hit by the second one, freezing her body to the ground. Cinder smirked at her work and turned her attention to Yang under her heel, deciding to grab her by her hair and pulling her head up.

"Such beautiful hair," Cinder taunted. She summoned a glass scimitar and with one swift swing, cut almost all of Yang's hair off, leaving its length now at her shoulders. All of the long strands flew all over the place, mostly in front of Yang, who was in complete shock of what she was looking at.

"No…" she almost cried. "You...you BITCH!"

Yang's hair glowed like fire and her eyes became blood red. She punched Cinder's leg off her and then proceeded to attack the Fall Maiden. She threw punch after punch at her, going completely berserk at the Maiden for cutting all of her hair, something no one would ever dare do before. Many of the attacks landed on Cinder as she was caught by surprise by this sudden attack.

"Enough!" Cinder roared, grabbing Yang with her Grimm arm and slamming her twice into the ground. Yang was about to recover onto her feet, but Cinder rushed to her and pinned her down with her Grimm arm while summoning a spear with her right.

"You won't enjoy a moment of this," Cinder gloated. "But I will."

"No!" Pyrrha roared. Before Cinder could react, her spear was knocked upwards and then…she felt a piercing pain in her torso. She looked down to see Pyrrha's spearhead penetrating her body.

"You will never threaten my friends agaim," Pyrrha stated before pulling Ekdikeo out and kicking Cinder away, the strength of the kick being enough to force Cinder off the bridge.

"Yang?" the redhead asked as she helped her friend up to her feet.

"Stop!" Luna called out. Raven had again freed herself from the ice and tried sneaking her way to the Vault while everyone was distracted. Yang frowned at the Spring Maiden, slowly walking up to her.

"I said you're not leaving with that Relic," she repeated.

**Author's Notes: Volume 5 will be drawing to a close soon! I hope you've enjoyed the Battle of Haven so far! **


	31. Victory at Haven

**RWBY: MRRN **

**VOLUME 5, CHAPTER 31: Victory at Haven**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth. **

**Author's Note: I decided to make a change in Math and Pyrrha's relationship. They don't have sex at the end of Volume 3, so I've altered several moments between them afterwards. If you go back and you see these changes, I wanted to explain why they happened. **

**Also, make sure to look up SLFR by Lorenzo the Maelstrom and Making a Difference by Je'daii1298. They're both great writers and deserve support. **

"I don't want to fight you, Yang, but I need that Relic," Raven told her daughter.

"Is that why you let her walk into that ambush with Professor Lionheart?" Pyrrha questioned. "So you could get the Relic?"

"I knew you two could handle it," Raven claimed. "After all, the Invincible Girl and you…my daughter, who grew up-"

"You didn't watch me grow up," Yang interrupted, her voice calm, but easily showing the immense amount of contempt for her birth mother. "You ran away. You abandoned me when I needed you, when Tai needed you."

"I didn't have a choice," Raven claimed angrily. "Salem…Salem cannot be beaten. Even if we could, the tribe is my home." Yang groaned, her patience for her mother now completely gone.

"Will you just SHUT UP!? The tribe did nothing for you! They treated you like garbage, left you to fend for yourself, made you feel inferior to everyone around you. That is NOT how a family is supposed to treat one of their own. Open your eyes, Raven: the tribe was never your family!"

Outside the conversation, all Luna could do was wonder in complete confusion about what everyone was talking about. Who was Salem? What was the Relic? Who were the Maidens? She wished they'd give her a proper explanation, but odds are, they wouldn't right now.

"Cinder said you killed the last Spring Maiden," Pyrrha brought up. "Is this true?" Raven fell silent, not answering Pyrrha's question. The Amazon frowned, tightening her grip on Ekdikeo.

"Answer me!"

"So what if I did?" Raven's response to Pyrrha's question shocked Yang, her eyes widening and her mouth almost falling wide open.

"How…how could you?" Yang questioned. "She was only a child."

"She was weak when I found her," Raven explained, crossing her arms. "No matter what training I put her through, she never did good enough. If she had been left with that power, she would've spent the rest of her life being targeted. What I did for her-"

"What you did TO her was murder," Yang interrupted.

"It was MERCY!" Raven retorted.

"No!" Pyrrha refused. "What you did was cowardice! You committed the same atrocity Cinder did: you murdered an innocent girl just so you could take her power for yourself! There was nothing merciful about what you did; it was purely selfish and cowardly."

"Nikos, do not press me," Raven threatened, her eyes glowing red as she conjured up a sphere of ice. "I could tear you apart in moments."

"You think we're scared of you just because you have Maiden powers?" Yang challenged. "Did you take the Maiden powers to save that girl or did you take them so you could feel strong?"

"Don't you dare lay your judgment on me," Raven snarled. "You have no idea what I've been through, the choices I've made to survive."

"No, I don't know the Raven before me," Yang admitted. "The Raven I was told about was strong, ambitious, but her greatest flaw was that she saw strength as the only way through her problems. She was closed off at first, but came to care about those close to her. You…"

Yang was trying her best not to shout and yell; she felt that if she did, she'd be like a little child having a temper tantrum. She wanted to curse and condemn Raven for what she's done, but she strove to be stronger and better than her.

"You care for no one but yourself. You even let Vernal die just so you could protect yourself."

Raven lowered her hand and her eyes stopped glowing, causing the sphere of ice to disappear. She looked over to the ashes that was once Vernal, having been cruelly incinerated by Cinder purely for sadism.

She couldn't argue at all with Yang's point because she knew it was all true. She had murdered an innocent girl not out of mercy, but to take the Maiden's power for herself. She had allowed Vernal to act as a decoy to keep herself safe, which ultimately led to her being burned to ashes.

"You will never understand," Raven claimed. "I've had to make choices only the strong can make. I've had to make the choices no one else because they're too scared to do so."

"Oh, bull!" Yang cried out. "Bull!"

"Yang…" Pyrrha spoke, seeing her friend's anger rise up at the Spring Maiden.

"You don't know anything about strength! You run away when people need your help! You preyed on the innocent and defenseless for years and claimed it was 'for survival'. You abandon those who trust you because you put your own life above everyone else's, just like you did to Vernal, to Qrow, to Ruby, to me! Your preaching of 'survival of the fittest' is nothing more than a lousy excuse for the things you've done, the people you've killed. You took the Spring Maiden's power solely for the purpose of deluding yourself into thinking you were strong! You are a lot of things, Raven…but you are not strong. In the end, you're just a coward and a hypocrite."

"Who do you think you are!?" Raven roared. "You can never understand what I've done, why I needed to do what I've done! You'll never understand and the reason is because you're just as weak as your father, as Summer!"

"You're the weak one!" Pyrrha insulted. "You're the one who sold out your own family just so you can save yourself!"

"I did it to protect Yang!" Raven revealed. "If I hadn't agreed to this, Cinder would've killed her!"

"And you honestly thought she'd keep her end of the bargain?" Yang questioned. "Cinder was a sociopath. She didn't care about people; she only cared about herself. How could you honestly be so stupid to believe her?"

"I…" Raven tried to justify, but for once, her voice fell flat. There was no way she could convince the two young women, excluding Luna, of why she making the deal with Cinder was the right choice.

"You're scared of Salem," Pyrrha stated. "So are we…but we refuse to back down and let her continue destroying innocent lives. That is precisely why you will open the Vault and let US take the Relic." Raven scoffed.

"Why would I-"

"Because you're afraid of that monster!" Yang interrupted. "Having Maiden powers put a target on your back, so what do you think she'll do if you have a Relic? She'll come after you with everything she can: White Fang, Iron Knights, Grimm, mercenaries…she will not stop until she pries the Relic from you and your tribe won't be able to protect you…or you can let us take it."

"Yang…" Raven addressed. "Do you really want to continue this fight for Ozpin? I know of what he did to Nikos."

Pyrrha looked away, remembering the horrible night known as the Fall of Beacon. She was forced into an experiment that could've killed her, forced by the same man she had trusted as a mentor and leader. Even to this day, she hadn't completely gotten over it.

"We're not doing this for him," she replied. "If we don't stand against Salem, no one will." Raven shook her head in disbelief.

"None of you understand, do you? She cannot be stopped. The only option there is…is to run."

"Those aren't the words of a survivor, those are the words of a coward," Yang insulted. "You know you're no match for Salem, so why would you want to take the very thing she wants? That Relic will not save you."

Yet again, Raven couldn't justify her choices. Nothing she said would influence the two young warrior women before her; they were too firm in what they fought for to be swayed by Raven's lies.

"Yang…you do not want to do this," the Branwen told her. "You're my daughter and I-"

"No," Yang rebuked. "There was only one woman who could call me her daughter and her name was Summer Rose. She stayed when you ran. She gave me unconditional love and care, even though I wasn't her own when you showed me nothing but blame. She…SHE was my mother, not you. We're related by blood only. Now open the damn door!"

Raven's pride now lay shattered like a broken glass. Yang had openly rejected her as a mother and had no right to call her family; the only woman who had ever been a mother to Yang was Summer Rose. The Branwen couldn't even speak, lacking the words needed to express herself.

"I'm…I'm sorry," she apologized as a tear ran down her cheek. Raven walked over to the Vault and placed her hand on the golden door. In a matter of moments, the door clicked and then opened up like a lotus flower.

"Raven…I need to know," Yang told the Branwen, her voice now calm and rather sad instead of angered. "Why did you abandon me?" Another tear ran down Raven's face.

"You said it yourself," she answered, turning to look at the yellow dragon. "We're not family." She turned into a bird and flew off, leaving the three women by themselves.

"Guys," Luna spoke. "I know this may not be the best moment, but…what the hell is going on!?"

"Luna…" Pyrrha tried to speak, but the Wolf Faunus would have none of it.

"Don't even think of lying to me," Luna threatened. "I want the truth, especially after what happened tonight."

"Yang, can you get the Relic?" Pyrrha asked. "Luna…what I'm telling you, you need to keep secret."

While Pyrrha explained the whole situation to Luna, Yang walked through the door, strangely into a desert area. Several meters in front of her was the Relic of Knowledge, floating above what appeared to be an altar of sorts. She walked up to it and grabbed it, taking a moment to examine it before turning around to head back.

"_You said it yourself. We're not family." _

"All that time…looking for her," Yang whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

She never knew what to expect what she'd find once she found her mother. At times, she thought Raven had rather complicated reasons to run away, such as some means to protect her. Other times, she'd think that she was secretly doing heroic acts, but stayed away from her family out of a need to keep them safe.

It wasn't any of those good reasons. Raven had abandoned her so she could return to the tribe that had abused her simply for not meeting their ideals of strength. She had abandoned her as part of some messed up test to see if she could find her, never making any effort to contact her.

"_Your fool of a father." _

To rub salt in the wound, she acted like she did nothing wrong. All Raven did was justify her choices, acting as if she was superior to everyone simply because she didn't blindly follow Ozpin. Even after she sold her own family out to Cinder, she still act without remorse, without shame.

Only after her pride was shattered into pieces and being called out for her cowardice and hypocrisy did she finally apologize. Only after Yang openly called Summer her mother instead of Raven did the Branwen break down and show weakness.

Finally, Yang's legs gave out just as she exited the Vault and faced the ground. Pyrrha and Luna looked over to her and immediately rushed over to check on her.

"Yang?" Pyrrha asked, placing a comforting hand on her back. All Yang could do was look up, her face finally drenched in tears, her eyes red and her once strong and confident appearance now broken into pieces.

For once, Yang couldn't hold together a strong face to hide her feelings of sadness, of abandonment. For once, all she could do was kneel and cry.

"All these years…looking for…her," she cried. "For nothing." Pyrrha immediately wrapped her arms around Yang and pulled her into a hug, holding her as she cried into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Yang," Pyrrha apologized as she held her friend.

Luna stood aside, feeling her own pain of abandonment rise as she watched Yang break down. Even with everything she had been told, all she could do was ignore it for now in favor of sympathy for Yang.

-0-

Leo burst into his dark office and ran over to the desk, grabbing a bag and then opening the drawers. He quickly looked around in it, hoping to find the necessary items he'd need before running away.

He stopped as he felt a dreadful presence enter the room. He looked up from his desk and gasped in horror as he saw the Seer Grimm floating in the doorway.

"_Where are you going?" _Salem questioned.

"Oh…uh, Your Grace," Leo addressed nervously. "I…I was looking for something."

"_Looking for a reason why Cinder betrayed me?" _Salem asked. Leo's nervous smile quickly broke into a panicked scowl.

"What…whatever do you mean?" One of the Seer Grimm's spiked tentacles reached forward and pierced the bag Leo was using to pack up.

"_Don't play stupid," _Salem warned, her voice calm yet still carrying a dangerous air.

"Okay!" Leo panicked. "Cinder betrayed us. She tried to kill Ms. Rose. But we can still-" He heard noise of battle outside the window and went out to see what was happening; to his shock, the White Fang and Iron Knights were being beaten back by the combined forces of the Bushi Militia and what appeared to be more Faunus bearing the symbol of the old White Fang.

"Oh…oh no," he quietly whispered. "The White Fang and Iron Knights…"

"_They're being beaten back, aren't they?" _Salem questioned. _"So, the attack has failed…all because of Cinder." _

"Your Grace, please," Leo begged. "I can still be of assistance. If I leave now, I can avoid the authorities and come find you. I…I can still help."

"_How?" _Salem questioned.

"Any way I can!" Leo cowardly stated. "I'll do anything you ask of me! Anything!" Leo became unnerved when he didn't receive a response from the Grimm Queen.

"Your Grace, please…" he pleaded.

"_You miserable coward," _Salem insulted. _"You are of no more use to me." _

"No, you're wrong!" the Haven Headmaster replied. "I can still help." Again, Salem did not respond.

"You monster!" Leo roared as he activated his shield, but it was quickly knocked off his arm by one of the Grimm's tentacles. He quickly ran to dodge the next tentacle before reaching the tea set and throwing it at the Grimm. It proved futile when the tentacles merely deflected the plate, teapot and cups aside.

"No…" Leo begged. "I don't want to die." He quickly ran towards the door, but was stopped as the Seer Grimm grabbed his ankle with one of the tentacles.

"Please, Your Grace!" Leo pleaded. "I'll do anything! I don't want to die!" The tentacles wrapped around him, pulling across the floor towards the Grimm.

"Please!" he screamed. "PLEASE!"

The Grimm took its time killing Leonardo Lionheart, relishing in his screams as he died for his betrayal and cowardice.

-0-

Adam and Blake clashed blades as the battle raged around them. Adam didn't want to hurt the woman he once loved, but he didn't have a choice: Blake stood in his way and therefore she had to be removed.

Blake pulled the cleaver from her back and unleashed her dual fighting style on Adam, which he was all too familiar with. After one slash at him, Adam shot her point blank with his shotgun, greatly damaging her purple Aura. Before he could finish her, he was kicked by Sun Wukong, wielding his staff like nunchaku.

The Monkey Faunus swung them around, shooting shotgun shells at the High Leader in a quick frenzy of attacks. While Adam admitted this skill, he was able to deflect all of the blows with his own speedy attacks. However, he was caught off guard when Blake rejoined the fight; Adam slashed at her, but instead hit a Shadow Clone and she flipped over him.

"Tell me, Blake," Adam asked, his hand on his sheathed sword. "Do you truly believe that your father can save our people from the same prejudice that's plagued us for centuries?"

"I don't know how to undo years of hatred," Blake admitted. "But I've seen what hatred does; if we keep going down this path, all we'll do is burn down the world. Is that truly you want?"

"It's the only way to get our point across," Adam claimed. "I won't stand by and let our people suffer."

"Pretty high and mighty, considering this is your fault," Sun pointed out. "The Wild Hunt never would've been created if you hadn't helped destroy Beacon."

"I didn't have a choice," Adam claimed. "I NEVER had a choice."

"That's not true!" Akela spoke out, a nocked arrow aimed for Adam's head. "You did have a choice; you chose to go down this path of violence. You chose this, Adam…and we've chosen to stand against you."

"Destroy the tower!" one of the Iron Knights shouted. "Blow it to hell!"

"What?" Math asked after killing an Iron Knight. "They're going to destroy the tower!" One of the Iron Knights carrying the detonator pushed the button, expecting a roaring inferno of flames to engulf everyone nearby.

To his surprise, nothing happened.

"Are you insane!?" Adam roared.

"The explosives…didn't go off," Cole pointed out. "But how?" Just then, a camouflaging woman appeared, holding a bundle of wires in her hand. She had disables the bombs while the fighting had been happening.

"Like we said, Adam," Akela repeated. "It's over."

Indeed, it was. Both of their plans had failed and they were now greatly outnumbered due to their own losses. With great pain, Adam made the call he didn't want to make, but had no choice.

"Retreat!" he ordered. "Fall back!" Adam kicked Sun aside as he and the White Fang fled into the forest, but the Iron Knights remained, determined to fight to the last man. Sun was about to go after Adam, but Akela stopped him.

"He's getting away," Sun stated. "We can take him."

"Our focus needs to be Haven," Akela stated. "We'll have our chance against Adam again."

The battle against the fanatical Iron Knights raged on as the White Fang retreated. Cole blocked a Knight's blade with one of his scimitars, then slashed his torso with the other. He then activated the Lightning Dust in his blades before throwing an X-shaped attack at a small group of Iron Knights, taking them down immediately.

"Charge them down!" Cole shouted. "Victory is within reach!"

"Blake!?" Ruo addressed, shocking the Cat Faunus.

"Ruo!?" Blake reciprocated. "What are you doing here?"

"Hopefully, the same reason you are," he replied, hiding the contempt in his voice. "Your teammates are inside the Great Hall."

"The Great Hall?" Blake asked. "Thanks." She hurried over to the building and opened the door, witnessing all the fighting going on between her friends and a man with wires, a giant man, and Emerald. She saw Mercury struggling to get up, his hand greatly injured.

"Blake!?" Ruby called out. "Is it…is it really you?"

"What?" Weiss asked before looking over to see her black themed teammate. Her eyes widened in shock at seeing her friend again.

"Guys!" Math called out as he rushed into the hall, followed by Cole. "It's over! The White Fang has retreated and the Iron Knights are outnumbered!"

"What?" Valkoin gasped.

The plan had failed. Not only did he most likely fail to get the Relic, but now their forces were being beaten back; how this was happening didn't matter to him. What did was that the attack on Haven was officially a failure.

"We're not done yet!" Emerald shouted. "When Cinder comes back with the Relic, it's over for you!" The lift leading down to the Vault was heard, meaning that it was coming back. Math and Cole prepared their weapons, preparing to face against enemies with the Relic of Knowledge.

Instead, to everyone's surprise, Yang, Pyrrha and Luna rose from the Vault, Yang holding the Relic of Knowledge. The hope on Emerald's face degraded into complete brokenness as she realized that if Cinder was still in the Vault, then that could only mean one thing.

"Cinder…" Emerald cried. "No…"

"We got to get out of here," Mercury insisted. "Emerald…"

"None of you are going anywhere," Weiss stated. "Surrender now."

"Cinder…" Emerald continued, falling down to her knees, her cheeks stained with tears before she gave out a loud "NOOOOO!"

The area slowly started to turn red and black as fog started to emerge near the Vault. The fog kept building and building until it was a great black cloud that then turned into a cloaked creature with blood red and black eyes, deathly pale skin, white hair and veins all over her body.

"What…?" Math gasped. "Is that…Salem?"

The creature let out a bloodcurdling scream, chilling everyone to their spines before it lunged at everyone. To their surprise, nothing else happened as it disappeared into thin air.

"What…?" Oren gasped. "Was that an illusion!?"

"It was one of Emerald's hallucinations," Jaune answered. "Wait…dammit! They've escaped."

"The hallucination was a distraction," Weiss stated. "Should we go after them?"

"No," Glaucus answered. "We must help the Militia deal with any Iron Knight stragglers."

"The Relic!" Ruby called out as Yang, Pyrrha and Luna walked down the steps. Suddenly, Yang stopped when she looked at the entrance to the Great Hall and dropped the Relic onto the ground. Blake gazed back at Yang, neither one speaking a word towards each other.

"Blake…" she whispered. While Blake's expression remained one of pleasant surprise, happy to see her friend again, Yang's changed to one of conflict. Her feelings were indecisive at the moment, changing between wanting to hug Blake or punch her. Instead, Yang did nothing.

"What are you doing here, Blake?" Ruby asked, breaking the dead silence between her and Yang.

"We found out that the White Fang was attacking Haven, so…we came to help," she explained.

"We?" Weiss asked, unsure of what her teammate meant.

"The people of Menagerie," Blake clarified. "It wasn't easy, but we were able to convince them to help us."

"So you were in Menagerie this whole time?" Yang asked, doing a poor job of hiding the anger towards her teammate.

"Yes…" Blake answered. "After what happened at Beacon, I…I went to Menagerie. My parents are the leaders there."

"Yang!" Ruo called out as he, the rest of MRRN and JNPR, along with Saf arrived at the Great Hall. "Is anyone hurt?"

"We're fine," Yang assured, walking up to him; Blake offered a hand of friendship, but Yang pretended that she didn't see it and moved towards her beloved, hugging him as he returned the embrace.

"Are you okay, Pyrrha?" Math asked as he rushed up to her and hugged her. "What happened?"

"Cinder," she answered. "She betrayed Salem and tried to take the Relic for herself."

"Cinder…was here?" the wolf swordsman asked. "Where is she?"

"She's dead…I hope," Pyrrha admitted.

The door opened once more, Silvio walking in, his armor damaged from the battle with the invaders and holding his gun in his right hand.

"We've won," Silvio told them before turning around to shout "We have victory!" The proclamation was followed by loud cheering and praise, the militia savoring the victory they had won against the Iron Knights and White Fang.

"Smart," Qrow told Silvio. "That'll get rid of any negativity quick."

"Thanks," he replied. "Are you okay, Luna?"

"I'm fine," she told him before walking over and kissing him. "But…we'll need to talk later."

"What about Adam?" Yang asked. "What happened to him?"

"He and the White Fang retreated," Ruo explained. "Several of the Iron Knights have fallen back as well. But we know that there's still many of them in Mistral's territory."

"I'll speak to my uncle, General Steel," Silvio offered. "He has military resources we can use to track down the last of the Iron Knights in Mistral's territory. We'll need to call back all the Huntsmen we can-"

"All the Huntsmen are dead," Qrow informed. "Lionheart was working with the Iron Knights and sold out all the Huntsmen in Mistral."

"What!?" Saf gasped. "So that means…"

"We need to let the Council know about this," Silvio insisted. "We need to let them know what's happened to the Huntsmen and gather reinforcements to hunt the Iron Knights down."

Qrow walked over to Oscar, seeing the young farm boy exhausted from the fighting.

"You okay, kid?" he asked. "How's Ozpin?"

"He's…resting," he answered. "When he recovers, he'll explain what to do with the Relic."

"Get some rest too, kid," Qrow answered. "You've earned it."

-0-

The next morning, the news of Haven spread across Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo like a wildfire. Unlike before, this caused great amounts of positivity, the people overjoyed in knowing that the villains had been thwarted. For the first time in months, the world was happy instead of frightened.

However, this did little to soothe Jacques Schnee. He was still under fire from the public ever since Weiss disappeared. His reputation was much more checkered than ever before, something he couldn't tolerate at all.

Bored, he decided to turn on the TV in his study and watch the news.

"_The attack on Haven was stopped by the efforts of Silvio Steel's Bushi Militia, along with the aid of Menagerie Faunus, led by Ghira Belladonna. The Menagerie Chieftain delivered this speech earlier." _

"_For the past five years, the White Fang resorted to terrorism in the goal for equality. Sadly, if it had continued, it would've left the entire world in flames. That is why I seek to reform the White Fang into a more peaceful organization as before, so that I and anyone who wishes can seek true equality with humanity." _

"Why can't you go back to the Dust Mines where you belong?" Jacques questioned. "How can Mistral fall so low as to let the Faunus speak like that?"

"_The effort to clean up Haven is now under way as well as to protect Mistral's borders. Silvio Steel has released information to the Council that Leonardo Lionheart, former Headmaster of Haven, cooperated with the Iron Knights and gave them information on all Huntsmen in Mistral. As far as the search has gone, no survivors have been found." _

"What do you expect of a Faunus?" Jacques questioned. "They're…WHAT!?" He paused the video now showing clean up of the Haven battleground. One of them…was none other than Weiss Schnee in the embrace of a blonde young man.

"Weiss," he growled, tightening his fist. "You disobedient, selfish, rebellious, ungrateful little bitch!" He quickly picked up his scroll and dialed a number.

"_Hello?" _the voice on the other end greeted.

"Old friend," Jacques addressed. "I know where my daughter is."

"_What? Where?" _

"In Mistral…and you're going to get her back for me. I want her brought back to me alive. As for her friends…kill them."

"_But how will we get out of Atlas? The borders are closed and no one will get in without General Ironwood's permission." _

"If I recall correctly, he said 'the Council's permission'. I know a Councilman who'd be more than happy to help me."

"_How so?" _

"I'll worry about that. Once I've arranged transportation, go to Mistral and bring my daughter back and I want her alive; if she dies, you will not see one bit of your reward. Understood?"

"_Yes, Mr. Schnee. I'll get the men ready." _Jacques then hung up.

"Weiss Schnee…when I bring you back, you still stay at the manor. I will crush your dreams until they are nothing but broken. You belong to me and I WILL remind you of that!"

**Author's Note: One chapter left until Volume 5 ends! I hope you enjoyed the Battle of Haven! **


	32. After the Battle

**RWBY: MRRN **

**Volume 5, Chapter 32: After the Battle**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

"Atlas?" Weiss asked after everyone in the group was back in one of the larger rooms in the Steel Manor. "Please tell me you're joking."

"_Ms. Schnee, I know you're not fond of the idea," _Ozpin spoke, having recovered from his needed rest from the Battle. _"But keeping it here in Mistral is too much of a risk." _

"Why don't we just find the new Spring Maiden?" Nasser suggested. "Vernal was sure to have passed the power onto another member of the tribe."

"It would take too much time," Qrow answered. "Besides, do you really think they'd help us? I don't like the idea of going to Atlas either, but without the Spring Maiden to lock the Relic back in the Vault, it's our safest option."

"Even with the way Ironwood's acting right now?" Math brought up. "He's called for the Dust Embargo, closed Atlas's borders and refused to help Mistral. I can only hope he'll help Mistral now since all of their Huntsmen are dead, courtesy of Leonardo Lionheart."

"_Do not mock him," _Ozpin sternly told the wolf warrior.

"Why not?" Math challenged. "He sold out all the Huntsmen and Huntresses in Mistral to Salem. He gave away the Spring Maiden's location. He helped Cinder and her two thugs get into Beacon, which allowed them to destroy it, costing many good people their lives and you tell me not to mock him? No, he is a traitor, a coward-"

"_He was a victim," _Ozpin interrupted. _"Many of you met Leo, but you didn't know the man he was before Salem forced him into her service. I honestly wished Silvio hadn't been informed of his actions; I believe he deserved to be remembered for his lifetime of service, not the unfortunate missteps he made before he died." _

"Missteps!?" Pyrrha barked, rising from her seat. "How many children in Mistral waited at the door for parents or siblings they'll never see again? How many parents prayed for their child's safe return, only to find out they were never coming back? What Leo did weren't missteps, it was straight up treason and you know it!"

"_What Leo did was reprehensible; I'm not here to argue differently," _Ozpin claimed. _"But Leo was not a monster…when he needed my help, I wasn't there for him. I didn't help him when he needed me the most. If anything…I'm to blame for his downfall." _

"You're to blame for a lot of things," Math snarked with immense contempt.

"Alright, kid," Qrow responded angrily. "You've been getting on my nerves a lot lately. You need to stop treating Ozpin-"

"I don't need to stop anything," Math growled. "You honestly expect me to trust you or him after what happened at Beacon? You lied to us. You were trying to rope us into your war."

"Because we needed warriors to help us," Qrow reminded the swordsman. "That's the only reason why Glaucus trained you. If not, he wouldn't have wasted his time."

"Knock it off!" Ruby silenced them, stepping between her uncle and friend. "This fighting needs to stop. We're in this together."

"Then your uncle needs to stop blindly following Ozpin," Math retorted. "He turns a blind eye to what he did to Pyrrha; she was told she had a choice, but when she refused, it was forced on her."

"I never said I condoned what he did," Qrow corrected. "But he's our best chance against Salem. He has more experience than the rest of us fighting her."

"_That's enough!" _Ozpin barked. Finally, the two were silenced; while Qrow quickly obeyed Ozpin, Math glared at him before sitting down in a chair.

"Ozpin and Qrow are right," Glaucus agreed. "It'll take too much time trying to find the Spring Maiden. Atlas has the resources necessary to keep it safe until we can return it to Haven Academy."

"But can we get there?" Saf asked. "Ironwood closed the borders; he's sure to have called everyone back."

"That's not true," Qrow spoke, taking out his scroll and projecting a map of Northern Anima, highlighting a city Pyrrha knew all too well.

"Argus."

"Argus?" Yang asked.

"It's my home," Pyrrha informed. "It's been a major trade route between Anima and Solitas ever since the city was founded."

"And it has the largest Atlas military base outside of the Kingdom," Qrow added. "There is absolutely no way they'd leave it abandoned. If we play our cards right, we may be able to convince them to escort us straight to Ironwood."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Forest spoke. "I've met the current commander there, David Brownwood…he was Trenton's brother. He's sure to help us if we explain the situation to him."

"_Then it's settled," _Ozpin decided. _"Once Mistral allows transportation outside the Kingdom again, we'll take the Argus Limited and then go to Atlas." _

"Question," Blake asked. "Once we secure the Relic, what's our next move? We can't just wait around and sit with it."

"We should take the fight to the enemy," Ruadh suggested. "We've been on the defensive for far too long. The enemy is sure to lose morale after such a crippling defeat."

"I agree," Nasser spoke. "Once we've secured the Relic, we should attack the Iron Knights before they come at us again."

"The Iron Knights have gotten their hands on Aura Breaking ammunition," Sterling reminded everyone. "Fighting against them now will be much more difficult; whatever our next course of action will be, we must take caution."

"Agreed," Forest complied. "We must not rush hastily into danger, but Ruadh's right; we cannot stay on the defensive forever. Sooner or later, we'll need to strike them before they strike us."

The discussion carried on for a while. It was agreed that they would take the Relic to Atlas and secure its safety from Salem, but they were debated on what to do next, though most of them voiced their support of attacking the Iron Knights.

Later, Jaune and Weiss walked onto a balcony overlooking the late night sky, filled with bright stars that shimmered like diamonds. The city of Mistral was lit up by the numerous lights and fires in the distance, celebrating their victory over the White Fang and Iron Knights.

"Weiss," Jaune asked, reaching over to gently hold her hand. "Will you be okay with going back to Atlas? No one will blame if you decide not to go."

"Trust me, Jaune, I hate it," Weiss admitted. "I left Atlas to get away from my father because he only wants me to be a pawn for his glory; he won't tolerate me finding my own path."

"But Ironwood's sure to keep you protected," Jaune suggested. "Ironwood's much more powerful than your father, right?"

"Technically, that's true, but my father has resources at his disposal," Weiss answered. "It's how he's gotten away with many of his crimes in the past. One way or another, he'll try to put me back under his thumb."

"We won't let that happen," the Arc assured with a genuine smile. "If your father tries to do anything to you, we'll stand in his way…all of us." Weiss sighed before deciding to step closer to Jaune and nuzzling into his chest.

"I don't know if I'm ready to go back, ready to confront my father. He never saw me as a person, only as his property. He always expected me to be grateful to him, no matter what he did, even if he did nothing for me. Whenever I tried to speak my mind, he'd always silence me, always yell in anger. And the worst part is that he'd always feel justified in anything he does, no matter how amoral."

"_I am not endangering my troops just so you can keep your money!" a younger Ironwood told a younger Jacques Schnee in his study. Unknown to them, twelve-year-old Weiss was listening into the conversation. _

"_Dammit, James!" Jacques roared. "Those White Fang demons have been targeting my company for months! Their crimes cost me millions in Lien, especially with their attack on next month's shipment! Those demons are destroying my company and I need it to stop!"_

"_That's what you're concerned about?" Ironwood asked in disbelief. "You're not concerned about the soldiers they killed? You're not concerned about the families who were told that their loved ones were never coming back? You're more concerned about your Lien than those who were killed, defending your precious merchandise?" _

"_The White Fang killed those soldiers, not me," Jacques responded. "I am guiltless of their deaths." _

"_Is that why you didn't even offer compensation to the families?" Ironwood brought up. "I had to offer compensation to them in response to the deaths of YOUR employees." _

"_I owe them nothing! The White Fang are responsible, they should answer for it." _

"_The White Fang wouldn't target the Schnee Dust Company if you had a shred of dignity in you. You have helped oppress the Faunus for years…did you really think there wouldn't be consequences?" _

"_Those Faunus are nothing but animals! They formed the White Fang because they wanted more than they deserved! If anything, we should wipe them off the face of Remnant!" _

"_You're proposing genocide!?" _

"_I don't consider killing animals genocide, especially when they're demons like the White Fang!" _

"_You disgust me." _

Jaune wrapped his arm around Weiss, the girl he never thought he'd ever hold as one who loved him. He chuckled a bit, catching Weiss's attention.

"What are you laughing about?" she asked sternly.

"I just…never thought that we'd be in this position," Jaune explained. "You never wanted anything to do with me back at Beacon, always shooting down my attempts to flirt with you. It's a bit funny when you think about it."

"You…you dunce," Weiss insulted, lightly hitting his breastplate. "You're still the same."

"Maybe," Jaune agreed. "So that means you love the same Jaune you met back at Beacon." Weiss blushed heavily before burying her face into his chest out of embarrassment.

"I love you too, Weiss," he told her. "And I won't let your father hurt you again." To his surprise, Weiss wrapped her arms around Jaune's torso, closing any distance between them.

"Thank you, Jaune," she replied.

-0-

Yang couldn't take her eyes off the mirror. Her hair was now shoulder length, courtesy of the she-devil who cut it off. She couldn't recognize herself with it, almost as if she was looking at a stranger.

Her mind was completely occupied by everything, but the biggest thought was the feeling that her search for her mother was all for nothing. She had spent years trying to find Raven and get answers out of her for why she left when she was only a child. She was prepared for the worst, but wanted to hope for the best.

She wasn't prepared, nor could she have any hope with Raven. In the end, it was simple why her mother had abandoned her: pride and cowardice.

Raven was taught that strength was a virtue while weakness was a sin. It drove her to value the tribe over her own flesh and blood. It drove her to commit various atrocities while constantly justifying her choices, even extending to selling out her own family to save herself.

"Even Tai would never forgive you," Yang growled, her fist tightening in anger at everything revolving around her mother.

When she had finally found Raven, instead of welcoming her or even considering to apologize, Raven claimed that Yang took too long in finding her, especially since she had no clue where she could be. She had gone on to insult her family, then behaving offended when Yang denounced her as her mother, claiming that her true mom was Summer Rose.

She had even murdered the previous Spring Maiden and allowed Vernal to be a decoy, which ultimately led to her death at the hands of Cinder. She had claimed that she did was mercy, but in truth, it was nothing more than a way to fill her delusion about being strong.

Yang could've forgiven all of it if she didn't constantly justify her choices. Leonardo may've been a coward and a traitor, but at least from what she heard, he didn't justify his choices; instead, he regretted them deeply. Leo was a victim when compared to Raven, who never showed any remorse for her actions.

"Yang?" Ruo called from outside her closed door. "Are you okay?"

"No," she answered. "But come in anyway." The White Tiger slowly opened the door, then walked inside to see his beloved.

"How are you holding up?" he asked her.

"Terrible," she admitted. "Not just because of my hair, but…all those years of searching. All of it for nothing." Yang looked at Ruo and held his hand in her own.

"I…just don't know what to do," she admitted again. "Many of the things I did was because I wanted to find my mother and get answers. Instead, all she did was act like she did nothing wrong. Only when I broke her delusional pride into pieces did she finally apologize. She said she joined Cinder to save me, but I KNOW she only did it to save herself. She even let Vernal die to protect her."

"What do you mean 'let Vernal die to protect her'?" Ruo asked. Yang sighed.

"Raven was the Spring Maiden, not Vernal. She was a decoy…and my mother let her die." Ruo's eyes widened in shock.

"Raven's the Spring Maiden? But if she's-"

"She murdered the last Maiden," Yang interrupted. "She claimed she did it out of mercy, but only did so to convince herself that she was strong."

"Why didn't you tell everyone else this?" he asked.

"Because I don't trust Ozpin," the dragon answered. "Frankly, I'm starting to lose trust in my uncle too. He's blindly obeying Ozpin, despite what he's done, especially to Pyrrha. How are we supposed to know he won't do it again? How can my uncle even look at Ozpin without being disgusted? The man's a control freak."

"No arguing there," Ruo agreed. "None of us are quick to trust him after what happened."

"And I don't know if I ever will," Yang replied. "Forest asked the same thing of Ozpin years ago and he didn't keep it. I'm not sure if he'll keep his promise now. How can we trust him if he won't be honest with us?"

Ruo could see the beautiful and confidant Yang before him slowly break down as she processed everything. The doubting of trust in her former Headmaster, the feeling of complete emptiness in her search for her mother…she was finally cracking and nothing could heal it.

"Raven murdered an innocent girl to take her power for herself, just like Cinder did," Yang repeated. "I knew Raven had done some things, but the murder of a child just to steal the Maiden's power…how do you justify that? How CAN it be justified? I could've forgiven Raven for everything if she apologized even ONCE!" Her breathing became heavy as her eyes started to water, something Ruo noticed immediately.

"Right now, I wish I had never known about Raven. If I had known she was such a hypocritical, selfish, judgmental, delusional, self-righteous bitch, I never would've wasted my time! Who needs her!?"

"Yang…" Ruo spoke softly, though Yang pulled her hand away from Ruo's grasp.

"I learned martial arts. I learned how to drive a motorcycle. I learned how to be truly strong and I did all that without her. I had a lot of great birthdays without her, even though she didn't even write me a birthday card or say anything because…" Yang's fists tightened and she finally let it all out, no longer restraining her emotions.

"Because she's a selfish wretch who doesn't deserve any of my sympathy or love or respect or anything good from me! She had eighteen years to come see me and not once did she do so! Well…I don't need her! No one needs her!"

Her anger was slowly replaced with sadness, falling to her knees and looking down at the ground, prompting Ruo to do so as well. He could hear her sniffling, then watched a few tears fall onto the carpet. Yang slowly reached up and placed her hands on Ruo's shoulders before looking up at him.

Her expression was one of a truly hurting young woman who had been abandoned by her mother, lost another one, lost her arm, nearly lost her sister and beloved due to her temper, and believed that all of her searching was ultimately for nothing. There was no confidence, no optimism, not even the slightest spark in her eyes, only deep pain that had never fully healed and possibly never will.

"Please," she pleaded to Ruo. "I know I…I…Please don't leave me." Ruo wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

"I will always be there for you, Yang," he promised.

-0-

Nachtfel groaned in frustration just after Cloak and Dagger had informed him of their defeat at Haven inside his tent. If he was truly angry at their loss, he was doing a marvelous job hiding it.

"We had all the cards in our hand," he spoke lowly. "Mistral's Huntsmen are dead. We outnumbered the Bushi Militia twenty to one. How…?"

"Lord Nachtfel," Dagger addressed.

"I am not your Lord," Nachtfel rebuked. "I am your brother-in-arms. We're all fighting the same battle together: to create a world without prejudice and pain, a world where all, human, Faunus, poor, rich, are equal. A world where the powerful will not use their gifts to oppress, but rather to help."

"And we will follow you to whatever end," Dagger assured.

"Only until the end of our mission," Nachtfel replied. "Once we've created this better world, I'll finally rest."

"You won't lead the world?" Cloak asked. "But the Knights look up to you. You're our leader."

"A leader fit for war, but not for peace," Nachtfel claimed. "But enough about that. Pull all remaining forces back; the Mistral forces are sure to come hunting us."

"What about the White Fang?" Cloak brought up. "What do we do about them?"

"Leave them," Nachtfel answered. "With Ghira Belladonna coming back to reclaim the White Fang, Adam's sure to have his hands full. I look after my warriors, not his."

"Shouldn't we at least try to fight the Mistral forces?" Cloak suggested. "There's still many of us left here in Anima."

"Only ambushes," Nachtfel answered. "The loss of the Oni at Haven showed how dreadfully I've overestimated my forces. The Aura Breaking ammunition we got has helped balance the scales in our favor, but the Huntsmen, corrupt as they are, are still trained warriors."

"Commander!" one of the Iron Knights addressed, bringing forth a bound Iron Knight. "This is the man who tried to destroy the tower while we were at Haven." Nachtfel glared at the Iron Knight, slowly walking up to him with heavy armored footsteps before stopping right in front of him.

"You attempted to destroy the tower while our brothers were nearby. You would've killed them if it had gone off."

"But, Commander, we nearly had victory in our grasp." Nachtfel grabbed the Iron Knight by his hair, exposing his neck.

"I refuse to consider the lives of my Knights expendable; that's the mindset of those we fight against…and it is my responsibility to expel that corruption." He unsheathed his sword and sliced the Knight's head off in one clean swing. He held the severed head for a few moments before dropping it onto the ground.

"Burn the body," Nachtfel ordered. "Cloak and Dagger, go join our forces in the north. I want you there for our assault."

"Understood," Dagger assured. "Take care, Commander."

After the twins left, Nachtfel was left alone in his tent. Feeling he had some privacy, he took his helmet off and placed it on the table.

"_Aaron," _Nachtfel's father spoke. _"How can you keep going down this path?" _

"I'm doing what I know is right," Nachtfel spoke. "The Huntsmen are a broken system; it must be destroyed."

"_At the cost of burning the world down?" _Nachtfel's father questioned. _"Aaron, please! Let go of your hatred before you forget who you are!" _

"I know who I am! I am Nachtfel!"

"_What happened to Aaron Nox Caelo? What happened to my son, who loved his family? My son, who wanted to help others? Nachtfel is nothing more than a demon you created to spearhead your revolution! Your name is Aaron Nox Caelo!" _

"Aaron is dead!" Nachtfel claimed. "He died when he watched his father get killed and thrown to the dogs. He died when he watched his mother and sister be torn apart by Grimm. He died when he saw his other family be abandoned by those who were sworn to protect us! The Huntsmen are evil and I must stop them!"

"_You have become that evil as well. You are blinded by your hatred and contempt for others. My son is alive and he will come out." _The Iron Knight leader finally sniffled, tears starting to roll down his cheeks.

"Father…" Aaron spoke. "It's too late. Nachtfel…I must destroy them."

-0-

Forest sat outside on a balcony of the Steel Manor, one overlooking the pool instead of the city. He was unsure about going to Atlas to protect the Relic. It was true that Atlas had the best military in Remnant, but Ironwood was becoming paranoid, irrational. He could only hope that Ironwood would at least send aid to Mistral to help defend their borders now the Atlas Council had been informed of Leonardo's treachery.

"Brownwood," Forest spoke softly, remembering his teammate, Trenton Brownwood.

"It's been years since you've seen David," Glaucus spoke, walking onto the balcony. "He harbors no ill will towards you; he knows his brother's death was not your fault."

"It's not him I'm worried about," Forest spoke. "It's Ironwood. He's become paranoid, irrational, scared…is taking the Relic to Atlas truly our best choice? Knowing him, he'd try to use the Relic as a weapon."

"I cannot argue with your points," Glaucus admitted. "But Atlas is our only option. Vale is in no condition to defend itself should Salem come. Vacuo has no form of military and lacks adequate defenses for a large scale invasion."

"I just hope we're making the right call," Forest responded. "I don't trust Ozpin anymore, especially after what he did to Pyrrha. No one will ever let that rest."

"Nor will I," Glaucus agreed. "But I'm also worried about Math. He's become much more…well…"

"Hardened?" Forest asked. "Considering what he's been though, along with everyone else, he wasn't going to stay that boy forever. But there is something I must ask…" Forest looked over and made direct eye contact with Glaucus.

"Did you solely train him just so you could recruit him into this war?"

"Only when he was ready," Glaucus answered. Forest frowned.

"So you were using him."

"Don't mistake this as meaning I see him as expendable," Glaucus sternly responded. "If I had known Ozpin was going to send MRRN up north all those months ago, I would've stopped it. I'm just thankful you were there."

"Is this why you wanted me to help train him?" Forest questioned. "Never once did I consider my training a way for him to become a soldier in this war."

"I would've explained everything to him, as I did before we left," Glaucus stated.

"It's Ozpin I have a problem with," the eagle swordsman responded. "I know you can be trusted, but Ozpin cannot. He could've thrown away his life just as he did Trenton's. I won't let that happen again…to any of them."

"Nor will I," the Gray Wanderer agreed. "But for now, we need to work together to stand a chance against Salem."

"It'll be hard to stand together when we barely trust Ozpin or Qrow," Forest pointed out. "Almost everyone here wants to hurt Ozpin for what he's done; the only reason they haven't is because they don't want to hurt Oscar. But if he doesn't keep his promise-"

"Oscar doesn't deserve to suffer for Ozpin's choices," Glaucus responded. "But for now, we must rest before tracking down the rest of the Iron Knights. Once they've been dealt with, we can go to Argus." Forest and Glaucus looked off into the distance of the night sky.

"The Battle for Haven is over. The Battle for Remnant is about to begin."

**Author's Notes: That concludes Volume 5! I hope I did much better than canon! As usual, Volume 6 will be a separate book and I will post a notice when I upload it. Keep reading and writing, my fellow writers! **


	33. Volume 6 Notice

**Author's Note:**

**Volume 6 has been uploaded! I hope you continue to enjoy the stories of Team MRRN! **

**Also make sure to check out my Fire Emblem fanfic!**


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